What victims, prosecutors and the record told the Parole Board before September's grants

The approved minutes of the Virginia Parole Board's Sept. 10 meeting show a wide range of victim input in the seven cases in which the board granted parole, from a family's emotional opposition to cases in which no victim or relative could be found.

In one case, Troy Demar's, the victim's family opposed release in person. Three immediate family members of Christine Allen spoke against parole, and Victim Services Coordinator Cindy Yadav read a statement from Allen's daughter, the minutes say. The board voted 4-0 to grant.

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. By the board's own monthly reports, the rate was about 32% in August (14 of 44) and about 8.2% in September (7 of 85); a single month reflects the mix of cases on that month's docket.

In two cases, the board's Victim Services Team could not reach anyone. For Calvin Darnell Johnson, the team was "unable to locate the victim's next of kin" after exhaustive efforts, and for John Michael Moran Jr., it was "unable to connect with the victims." The written report nonetheless lists "no victim opposition" among the reasons in Moran's case.

In other cases, victims did not object. The two victims in Clarence Eugene Billups' case "are okay with his release" but asked that he stay away from them and their families. In David Syrus Butchee's case, one victim was not opposed and the other deferred to the board. Waverly Otis Robinson's case recorded no victim opposition, and in Michael McCoy Duncan's, the victim "does not recall the incident."

Prosecutors supported release in two cases, according to the minutes: Johnson's, as cited by Chair Shannon Dion and Vice Chair Kecia Brothers Hayes, and Billups', as cited by Brothers Hayes. The minutes do not record a prosecutor's position in the other five cases.

Some details in the board's documents differ or are unexplained. In Billups' case, two members said three years was "enough time to serve on a technical violation," while the report lists a 2023 conviction for rape of a child under 13. In Johnson's case, the report lists "infraction free since incarceration" alongside 2023 drug and false-pretenses convictions. The report's decision dates for the seven grants are Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, though the minutes show all were voted on Sept. 10. This newsroom has asked the board to clarify.

Board member votes also show one member absent. Bishop Kevin White did not attend the Sept. 10 meeting, so each grant passed with four votes, the minimum the Washington Examiner reported is required for release in a first-degree murder case.

The board's prior decisions are also public. In September 2023, the board under Gov. Glenn Youngkin denied Billups parole, citing "prior failure(s) and/or convictions while under community supervision," according to that month's report.

The minutes are public and posted on the board's website after approval. The board approved the Sept. 10 minutes on Oct. 1.

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.