A Prisoner, 67, Commends Parole Board In Today's DN-R "Justice Matters" Column

Jonathan D. White, 67, has been infraction-free since his
incarceration at age 21, but like so many others, has been
denied parole year after year. Meanwhile he has earned a
degree from Liberty University and has taken every
possible vocational training and personal growth class
available to him.

On July 20, Gov. Abigail Spanberger reflected on her first six months in office. Following a challenging start in the General Assembly, where she opposed both new marijuana legislation and a data center project, the governor announced a new parole board on March 4, 2026. 

On that same day three representatives of the Valley Justice Coalition (VJC) were in Richmond to take part in a special meeting with Joseph Walters, the newly appointed Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections (VaDOC) and members of his staff to discuss the Department’s agenda to improve safety and increase operational transparency within prison facilities.

Subsequently, Shannon Dion, the new Parole Board chair, invited these same VJC members to a Zoom conference with the rest of her board. The meeting served as an introduction to the new members and included a Q&A session addressing the significant backlog of cases inherited from the previous administration.

During the Youngkin administration and under the leadership of the former chair, few eligible and deserving offenders were granted parole, leaving a substantial volume of unfinished work for the new board. They are currently sorting through cases to prioritize decisions for those dating back to September 2025, as in, "Which bad apple do we keep, and which do we release?” The entire parole-eligible population, those incarcerated before parole was abolished in 1995, is back in the "apple barrel" once again.

The newly-appointed VPB has been in training since its official appointment on March 6. Cases are now even more backlogged because they didn't have the positive assistance for transition from the previous board. As a result, not a single parole was granted from January 1 through March while the new board was gearing up for its work.

Here is the trail so far: In April, two men refused their parole because they were "discharging" their sentence and did not want to be placed under any conditions of parole whatsoever. They signed the PB16 Parole Refusal Form and several weeks later were released with no obligations to any parole conditions in the Commonwealth. In reality, the debt they owed was paid.

In May, a man and a woman were granted a "compassionate release" because they were terminally ill. Death at home for these parolees was mercy to them and their family members.

Also in May, out of 12 revocation hearings from the backlogged cases, eight were continued back to their previous parole status. The other four were sent back into the VaDOC.

According to the VPB website, there were three persons granted parole in June, with four others given parole revocations. Two others had their sentences discharged, and 10 parole violators were returned to prison.

The July numbers have been far more encouraging. On July 9, public hearings conducted by the board resulted in five grants and one denial. Two of the grants were for men at the Lawrenceville Correctional Center, one of Virginia’s three Model Initiative Facilities (others are Dillwyn and Buckingham Correctional Centers).

At last week’s public hearings (July 23), all 10 deserving persons reviewed were granted parole. Of the two released at Lawrenceville, one is in my pod and has been a part of the "Second Look Parole Preparation Program” that I and another prisoner co-facilitate. It aims to prepare people for their review hearings and help them become productive citizens both in prison and upon release.

We commend the Spanberger-appointed parole board for responsibly fulfilling their mission statement, to “grant parole or conditional release to inmates whose release is compatible with public safety." This is in the best interest of every citizen of the Commonwealth.

My remaining question is personal, “Can people like me, who have maintained a model prison record for 45 years, and who have become a mentor and role model for countless other incarcerated persons, expect to be released?”

Note: The Daily News-Record publishes a Valley Justice Coalition "Justice Matters" column on the last Friday of each month.