Parole Review Commission delivers report and 23 recommendations to governor

The 27-member Commission on Parole Review has delivered its report and 23 recommendations to Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The commission was appointed to examine the 20-year-old policy that eliminated discretionary parole for persons convicted of felonies in Virginia.

The Commission’s recommendations to Governor McAuliffe addressed complex issues that will enhance public safety and improve Virginia’s criminal justice system. 

Many recommendations focus on expanding access to behavioral health services, diverting appropriate offenders away from the criminal justice system, and reviewing mandatory minimum sentences, good-time credits, sentencing guidelines and relief for certain offenders.

McAuliffe took immediate action on several recommendations by including funding in his budget to expand access to pre-trial services, mental health and substance abuse services, and re-entry programs.

The Governor also proposed legislation that will provide relief for persons impacted by Fishback v. Commonwealth where juries were not informed that parole had been abolished.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney co-chaired the commission with former Attorney General Mark Earley and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran,

Stoney was quoted as saying, “This report is the product of frank conversations that extended beyond the issue of parole and transformed into a discussion of whether our criminal justice system at-large has done enough to rehabilitate and restore lives. I am pleased that our Commission was in full agreement that we cannot simply lock people up and throw away the key.”

The Commission’s full report can be found at https://parolecommission.virginia.gov/index.html  .