WAMU 88.5 : News

Filed Under:

Suit Claims VA Parole Board Unfairly Denies Release

February 3, 2010
Play associated audio
comments

By Rebecca Blatt

Attorneys for 11 inmates in Virginia say the state's parole board is unfairly denying parole in thousands of cases, and they're asking a court to step in.

Virginia abolished parole in 1995. Before that, judges often sentenced people to lengthy prison terms with the understanding that they would be eligible for release after serving as little as a quarter of the sentence.

There are more than 6,000 inmates in Virginia who were sentenced before 1995 and are eligible for parole. The suit claims many are being unfairly denied release. The attorneys who filed the suit want the court to order the parole board to issue rules to ensure fair and meaningful consideration of parole in those cases.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

Food

NPR

How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great Famine

Although scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples.

Politics

NPR

Libya 'Talking Points' Emails Put Petraeus Back In Spotlight

The role former CIA Director David Petraeus played in creating the discredited U.S. "talking points" about the violence in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including a U.S. ambassador, last year is under new scrutiny, as a Washington Post story suggests that Petraeus sought to shape the resulting memo to favor his agency.

Technology

NPR

Apple CEO Defends Tax Practices At Senate Hearing

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced tough questions on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. He defended a tax strategy that allows Apple to avoid taxes on tens of billions of dollars of profits. Cook also called on the Congress to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.