Gov. Glenn Youngkin announces four new Virginia parole board picks

FILE - Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during a news conference about an executive order establishing K through 12 lab schools at the Capitol Thursday Jan. 27, 2022, in Richmond, Va. A judge on Friday, Feb. 4, temporarily halted an executive order by Republican Gov. Youngkin that allowed parents to opt out of school mask mandates for their children. The temporary restraining order means that mask mandates put in place by school boards may remain, at least for now. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) (Steve Helber, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

RICHMOND, Va. – Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced new nominees Wednesday to serve on the Virginia Parole Board, after Senate Democrats’ decision last month to dump four members of his initial slate of picks.

The four nominees were caught up in a partisan back-and-forth over appointments during this year’s regular session of the divided General Assembly.

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The new nominees are: Samuel Boone Jr., a Virginia State Police trooper and 9/11 first responder; Steven Buck, a former state and federal prosecutor; Michelle Dermyer, a law enforcement advocate and the widow of VSP trooper Chad Phillip Dermyer, who was killed in the line of duty in Richmond in 2016; and Toby Vick, a lawyer who has worked as a prosecutor and defense attorney.

“This group of individuals will restore common sense, reform the Parole Board, and stand up for victims’ rights,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Under Virginia law, a limited number of inmates are eligible for parole. The parole board members decide whether to grant parole and can revoke parole. The board also acts on requests for geriatric release.

The board has been under heightened scrutiny since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when it engaged in an accelerated and sometimes chaotic release of inmates. Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on the day he was sworn into office that he had opened an investigation into the board’s actions.

The new group, also subject to legislative approval, will join board chairman Chadwick Dotson, the only initial Youngkin nominee who was confirmed.