Four people convicted in killings among August parole grants, including a man who was 15

Four of the 14 people granted parole by the Virginia Parole Board in August were serving sentences for homicide convictions, according to the board's August 2026 decisions report. Together they had served an estimated 126 years.

Victor Fields, 68, was sentenced in Norfolk Circuit Court in February 1993 to life for first-degree murder, plus two years on a firearm charge. A Daily Press column published in April 1993 said that in July 1992, Fields shot and killed 27-year-old Mark Borkowski on a public basketball court in Norfolk during a dispute over a foul call. Fields has served an estimated 33 years and 11 months. According to the minutes of the Aug. 27 meeting, two immediate family members of the victim opposed parole; the board's report lists the prosecuting attorney's support for release and a medical condition among its reasons. The vote was 5-0.

Reginald Shell, 60, has two first-degree homicide judgments from 1989: 60 years from Hampton Circuit Court and life from Newport News Circuit Court. A 1990 Court of Appeals of Virginia opinion describes the Hampton case as the killing of his father, Samuel Rylander, whose body was found Feb. 11, 1989; the court said Shell confessed to Hampton detectives. This newsroom did not find a source describing the Newport News case. A statement from a victim's family member was read at the meeting. The vote was 5-0.

Stephen Michael Lineham, 42, was 15 when, according to contemporaneous Washington Post reporting summarized by the history site Fractured Fairfax, he and 21-year-old Paul R. Pisacane beat and strangled 62-year-old John W. Bannister in his apartment in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County on March 18, 2000. Lineham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received 60 years with 15 suspended. The minutes say he was considered under the board's "newly enacted Juvenile Offender Criteria Procedures." The board's Victim Services Unit reported that the victim's closest living relatives have died. The vote was 5-0.

Isaac Terrell Taylor, 49, was convicted in Richmond Circuit Court in July 1999 of second-degree murder, with a 25-year sentence, along with robbery and firearm charges. His record also lists two earlier cocaine-possession convictions from 1999 and a 1998 conviction for driving on a revoked license. This newsroom did not find a source identifying the victim. Two of the victim's family members opposed parole, according to the minutes. Board members said the prosecutor supported, or did not oppose, release. The vote was 5-0.

Lineham's case is the first in August's report tied to a 2026 change in state law. SB60/HB318, sponsored by Sen. Mamie Locke and Del. Patrick Hope and signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger on April 22, directs the board to give people serving long sentences for offenses committed as juveniles a "meaningful opportunity for release" based on maturity and rehabilitation. The parole-procedure provisions took effect July 1, 2026, according to the bill and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. Virginia had already made people who offended before age 18 eligible for parole after 20 years, under a 2020 law.

In each of the four cases, the board's listed reasons centered on conduct in prison and plans for release: infraction-free records, program participation, low risk-assessment scores, stable release plans and acceptance of responsibility. For Fields, Shell and Lineham, the board also cited participation in victim-impact or victim-offender dialogue programming.

Five people granted in August were serving at least one life sentence: Fields and Shell, along with David Brown Jr. of Norfolk, Selwyn Shawn Herring of Norfolk and Reginald James Holland of Arlington County, whose cases involve sexual offenses.

Homicide rates have fallen statewide in recent years. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services reported 4.2 murders per 100,000 residents in 2025, down 14% from 2024 and 43% from 2022.

In August the board also denied parole to people serving time for homicide, citing the seriousness of the offense and the need for more treatment, among other reasons. Under this publication's policy, those denials are reported only as part of the monthly totals.

Arlington County is a county in Northern Virginia. Its county seat is Arlington.

Fairfax County is a county in Northern Virginia. Its county seat is Fairfax, an independent city.

Richmond is an independent city in the Richmond region.