Juvenile criteria, age and health: how September's parole cases were decided

Age figured repeatedly in the Virginia Parole Board's September decisions, both the age of people when they committed their crimes and their age now, according to the board's report and the minutes of its Sept. 10 meeting.

Two candidates that day were considered under the board's "newly enacted Juvenile Offender Criteria Procedures," which follow a 2026 law, SB60/HB318, that took effect July 1. One was granted and one was denied.

David Syrus Butchee, 45, was granted parole 4-0. A Court of Appeals of Virginia opinion describes the November 1997 robbery of a post office in the City of Franklin by a man who placed a gun on the counter; Butchee was arrested that night in Stafford County in a Jeep Cherokee stolen that morning in Virginia Beach, and a handgun was found inside. He was sentenced to 30 years for the robbery. All four members cited his age at the time of the offense.

Butchee's record also lists a 2000 conviction for possessing drugs as a prisoner. The board under Gov. Glenn Youngkin denied him parole in January 2023, citing institutional infractions and a conviction of a new crime while incarcerated, according to that month's report. In September, members said he had been infraction-free since 2020, and the minutes say one victim did not oppose parole and a second deferred to the board.

Rashawn Simmons was denied. Chair Shannon Dion, Vice Chair Kecia Brothers Hayes and Board Member Valerie Boykin cited his conviction of a new crime while incarcerated, and Board Member Tyrone Nelson abstained, according to the minutes. The victim's brother did not oppose parole; the victim's mother, who has died, had opposed it.

Older applicants made up much of the docket. The median age of the 85 people whose parole cases were decided was 65, according to an analysis of the report. Geriatric conditional release, available to people 65 or older after five years served or 60 or older after 10, was the sole basis in 37 cases and one of two bases in 18.

The board granted 1 of 37 geriatric-only cases and 3 of 18 dual-eligibility cases. The geriatric grant went to Michael McCoy Duncan, 62, whose record of 39 offense entries is made up almost entirely of burglary and larceny convictions in Hampton Roads. The Victim Services Team reported that the victim "does not recall the incident."

Health was cited for Clarence Eugene Billups, 71, whose record includes 1992 rape convictions and a 2023 conviction for rape of a child under 13. Three of the four members cited a "severe long-term disability limiting basic activity," the minutes show.

Advocates and critics read these factors differently. Jason Pye of the Due Process Institute cited a U.S. Sentencing Commission study finding that rearrest rates decline with age, and argued that age is relevant alongside behavior, treatment and health. Critics, including former Attorney General Jason Miyares, have said the board is releasing too many people with violent convictions.

Across the 78 denials, the most common reason given was that cognitive behavioral therapy completion and insight were needed before risk could be considered reduced, cited 74 times, according to the report.

People granted geriatric conditional release are supervised in the community and can be returned to prison for violating their conditions.

How parole works in Virginia: Virginia effectively abolished parole for most crimes in 1995 under a truth-in-sentencing law, so parole is now available mainly to people convicted before that law took effect, to older prisoners through geriatric conditional release, and, under laws passed in 2020, to people who committed crimes as juveniles and to some people convicted by juries between 1995 and 2000, according to Bolts. The board reviews eligible people and generally reconsiders them annually. Statewide, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services reported 210.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2025, down 7% from 2024 and 14% from 2023, in its August 2026 report on crime trends.

Stafford County is a county in the Fredericksburg area. Its county seat is Stafford.

Virginia Beach is an independent city in Hampton Roads.