What victims and prosecutors told the Parole Board before August's grants

Approved minutes of the Virginia Parole Board's Aug. 27, 2026, meeting show how victims and prosecutors weighed in on the 14 cases the board granted, and how each member explained his or her vote.

The board took up each case in turn. A summary of victim input was given, the parole candidate addressed the board by video, and Chair Shannon Dion called on each member to vote and state reasons, according to the minutes. The meeting began at 10:08 a.m. and adjourned at about 3:34 p.m.

Recent analyses of board data have reported sharply higher grant rates under the current board than under its predecessor, though they measure different periods. The Washington Examiner reported Oct. 7 that the board under Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved 1.23% of parole cases in 2025, with 32 grants, and that the current board's 2026 release rate was 13.89%, with 38 grants. WJLA 7News reported Oct. 2 that the current board granted 48 of 205 discretionary and geriatric cases since its first meeting in May, about 23.4%, compared with fewer than two in 100 under Youngkin's board. Bolts magazine reported a rate of about 2% from January 2022 through September 2023 under Youngkin's appointees. The August report's 14 grants in 44 parole decisions, about 32%, reflects a single month.

Victims or their families opposed release in several cases the board granted. Two immediate family members of Mark Borkowski, who was killed in Norfolk in 1992, opposed parole for Victor Fields. Two family members of the victim in Isaac Terrell Taylor's 1999 Richmond murder case opposed his parole. In Reginald James Holland's Arlington case, one victim spoke at the meeting and statements from two others were read. In Randy Edward Logsdon Jr.'s Virginia Beach case, one victim opposed parole while three victims and their parents supported it.

In other cases, the victims had died or did not take a position. The board's Victim Services Unit reported that the closest living relatives of John W. Bannister, killed in Fairfax County in 2000, have died, as have the victims in Selwyn Shawn Herring's Norfolk case and the victim in David Brown Jr.'s case. One victim was "too overwhelmed" to give a position, another asked for no contact, and a third could not form a position but said they would be fearful of encountering the man in the community. The two drug cases had no victims, the minutes say.

Prosecutors' positions were cited in five cases. The board's report lists "The prosecuting attorney supports release" for Fields, Taylor, Lemen and Harold. Chair Dion said Harold had "the support of two Commonwealth's Attorneys" and that the prosecutor "strongly supports" Oscar Robert Lemen's release. In Taylor's case, members described the prosecutor's position differently, two saying the prosecutor "supports" release and two saying the prosecutor "does not oppose" it.

Board members' stated reasons emphasized conduct in prison. Infraction-free records were cited in 13 of the 14 grants. Members frequently cited program completion, low risk-assessment scores, stable release plans, acceptance of responsibility and, in several cases, participation in victim-impact or victim-offender dialogue programs.

The two split votes turned on remorse and treatment. In Holland's case, Chair Dion voted no, citing "the lack of demonstrated remorse," and Vice Chair Kecia Brothers Hayes said he needed more programming. In Lemen's case, Board Member Tyrone Nelson said release "would diminish the seriousness of the crime," and Brothers Hayes said he needed more treatment. Both were granted 3-2.

The board's procedures allow victims to schedule appointments with the board annually or as needed, according to its website, while advocates for a parole candidate may schedule appointments every two years. The board accepts letters at any time.

Victims' advocates have criticized the board's recent pace. WJLA reported in September on a Fairfax County family that urged the board not to release the man convicted of killing their relative; the board granted parole in that case at a September meeting.

The minutes also show that the board's Victim Services staff took part directly. Victim Services Coordinator Cindy Yadav read statements on behalf of victims or family members in the Taylor, Holland, Logsdon, Shell and Lemen cases.

Some details in the board's monthly report and the minutes differ. In the report's vote tables for Reginald Shell and Dennis Rodney Harold, one member is listed twice and Board Member Valerie Boykin is not listed; the minutes record 5-0 votes in both cases. The report also lists "Successful participation with victim's family in victim-offender dialogue program" for Stephen Michael Lineham, while the minutes say the victim's closest relatives have died. This newsroom has asked the board to clarify.

The minutes are public and posted on the board's website after approval. The board approved the Aug. 27 minutes on Sept. 10.

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.