The parole board has had 16 months to figure out how it could link prisoners at two different locations with its members in Richmond. A spokesman says they tested using Zoom for Government -- a service more secure than ordinary Zoom – not once but twice. Still, at the appointed hour board members, prisoners and the public couldn’t hear the proceedings.
IT was summoned, and after about half an hour the meeting proceeded with inmate Tywon Briscoe’s fate in the balance. In 1995, at the age of 18, he was convicted of wounding a man during a fight, leaving him paralyzed. Now 47, Briscoe wanted his victim to know he was truly sorry.
"He definitely didn’t deserve that, and I just wish today that I would have walked away."
The board’s newest member – former prosecutor Phillips Ferguson – thought Briscoe should serve his full 32-year sentence.
"You brought out a gun and shot multiple times at an individual that was running away from you, and you shot him in the back. That individual is now paralyzed from the waist down. He’s in effect serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole."
But three of five board members felt Briscoe would pose no threat to society if released and deserved a second chance. He thanked them and said he would prove that they’d made the right decision.
Next came inmate Charles Hagan – convicted of robberies in Virginia and North Carolina. Now 65, he served 42 years behind bars and told the parole board he was a different man. '
"I'm a different person!"
Two years ago, when he came up for parole, the board turned him down – noting his extensive criminal record and history of violence. This year, with the public listening in, the board noted his spotless prison record and voted unanimously to set him free.
"You’ve had a good institutional adjustment. You’ve basically infraction free incarceration, and I think your release would be compatible with public safety," Ferguson told him.
Hagan said he’d been locked up so long that he didn’t feel much excitement but thanked the board for its decision.
