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Virginia Parole Rate Plummets Despite Thousands of Eligible Parolees
by John E. Dannenberg
Politics in Virginia have trumped reason when it comes to releasing eligible offenders on parole. Notwithstanding examples of successful reintegration into society after such prisoners are released, political pressure has driven the parole board’s grant rate down from 40% to 5.6%. It also drove previous parole …
Politics in Virginia have trumped reason when it comes to releasing eligible offenders on parole. Notwithstanding examples of successful reintegration into society after such prisoners are released, political pressure has driven the parole board’s grant rate down from 40% to 5.6%. It also drove previous parole …
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More from this issue:
- Gay and Lesbian Prisoners: Recent Developments and a Call for More Research, by Zachary Wolfe, Esq.
- Washington State Crime Lab Chief Resigns, by Gary Hunter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over 60% of Oregon Prisoner Suicides Linked to Mental Illness, Isolation, by Mark Wilson
- Trifecta for Michigan DOC: Three Reports Find Deficient Prison Medical Care, by David Reutter
- Fondled Hawaiian Transexual Prisoner Awarded $817,500 in Damages and Attorney Fees, by Matthew Clarke
- Virginia Parole Rate Plummets Despite Thousands of Eligible Parolees, by John Dannenberg
- Houston District Attorney Caught in E-mail Scandal, Resigns, Held in Contempt, by Gary Hunter
- Courts Find Ohio Adam Walsh Act Unconstitutional
- NY DOC’s Former 60% Prisoner Phone Call Kickback Scheme Did Not Violate Prisoners’ Families’ Constitutional Rights
- Prison Legal News Prevails in Tennessee Public Records Suit Against CCA
- TASER International’s Stock Shocked By $6.2 Million Damages Award, by John Dannenberg
- Teeth Extraction Policy for CA Women Prisoners Rescinded, by John Dannenberg
- Michigan Jail Pays $145,000 for Vindictively Exhibiting Naked Detainees in Segregation Cell
- Harris County, Texas Sends 600 Jail Prisoners to Private Pen in Louisiana
- Jail Prisoners Get Rapid HIV Tests
- Federal Prisoner May Not be Held Indefinitely in Punitive Housing Pending Investigation of Infraction
- $204,856 in Attorney’s Fees and Costs Awarded in Nebraska Kosher Diet and Muslim Prayer Case, by Brandon Sample
- Excessive Force Suit Against Illinois Guards Must be Retried, Allowing Evidence of Guards’ Actions
- Bill Introduced to Exempt Wrongfully Convicted from Federal Income Taxes
- States Expand Registration Laws to Include Drug Offenses
- Alabama Jail Guard Fired, Convicted, Held Civilly Liable in Prisoner’s Assault, by David Reutter
- Montana DOC Employees Disciplined for E-mail Abuse
- Segregated Massachusetts Nation of Islam Prisoners Entitled to Halal Menu and Jum’ah Prayers; $237,299.25 in Attorney Fees Awarded
- PHS Wins Quadriplegic Prisoner’s Negligence Suit, Jail Settles for $100,000
- Federal Prisoner in State Jail Custody Illegally Denied State Court Name Change Petition
- 71-Year-Old Veteran Paid $185,000 for Rough California Jail Booking Treatment
- U.N. Committee Against Torture: Tasering is a “Form of Torture”, by Matthew Clarke
- Monetary Sanctions Permitted for Milwaukee Jail’s Violation of Consent Decree, by David Reutter
- Prior Failure to Register as Sex Offender Does Not Violate Adam Walsh Act
- WA Prisoner Properly Denied Access to Savings Account to Hire Lawyer for Parolability Hearing
- Sixth Circuit: $4.5 Million Award Upheld Against Michigan DOC Doctor in Dehydration Death of Mentally Ill Prisoner, by John Dannenberg
- $7,025 Award in Slip and Fall From Ohio Prison Bunk
- Ten Michigan Lawyers Honored For 8-Year Effort To Win $30 Million Damages For 10 Women Prisoners’ Sexual Abuse By Prison Guards, by John Dannenberg
- Georgia Inmate Welfare Fund Consent Decree Terminated Under PLRA
- $45,000 Awarded to Probationer Subject to Overzealous Probation Officer
- Michigan Federal Court Issues Injunctive Relief for Lifer Parole Hearings, by John Dannenberg
- $305,021 Awarded to Missouri Prisoner Struck by Tree; State Legislature Takes Note, by Brandon Sample
- Washington DOC Fires McNeil Island Employee for Prisoner Fund Theft
- Contempt Order Entered Against Virgin Island’s Prison Mental Health Care
- $449,000 Settlement in BIA Prisoner’s Fall from Top Bunk in Detox Cell
- $1.95 Million for 18 Years Wrongful Imprisonment in North Carolina
- Wyoming Prisoner Receives $350,000 in Failure to Protect Case
- Indiana Judge Refuses to Send Juveniles to Unsafe Facility
- New York Mail Rule Disciplinary Conviction Reversed
- Texas Adds Sex Offender Employment and School Information to Registry
- Texas Youth Commission Settles Lawsuit with U.S. Dept. of Justice, by Gary Hunter
- News in Brief:
- Ice Cream Trucks No Treat for Sex Offenders
More from John Dannenberg:
- Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual, 2d Ed., by Dan Manville, March 5, 2015
- Systemic Changes Follow Murder of Colorado Prison Director, July 10, 2014
- The Redbook – A Manual on Legal Style, April 15, 2014
- Arrest-Proof Yourself, by Dale Carson and Wes Denham, March 15, 2014
- Arrested: What to do When Your Loved One’s in Jail, by Wes Denham, Feb. 15, 2014
- California Parole Board Agrees to Implement Policy to Fix Terms at Lifers’ Initial Hearings, Jan. 15, 2014
- FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry, Dec. 15, 2013
- Federal Court Orders California to Release 9,600 More Prisoners, Aug. 15, 2013
- Valley Fever Declared a Public Health Emergency at Two California Prisons; Court Orders Prisoner Transfers, July 15, 2013
- Plata and Coleman Showdown in California, June 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Due Process, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Pretrial Detention and Detainees.
- Oregon Supreme Court: Jail Credit Statute Focuses Upon Legal Custody Not Physical Custody Location, July 1, 2026. Civil Procedure, Sentencing, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Criminal Justice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Parole, Prisoners' Rights.
- California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026. Parole, Equal Protection Clause/Claims, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Credits, Prison Regulations.
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, June 1, 2026. Parole, Overdetention, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Totality of Conditions, Parole, Life without Parole (LWOP), Americans with Disabilities Act.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Parole, halfway houses, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, De Facto Life Sentence.

