The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

"I just pretty much go on about my way living a normal life," said Martin, now married, a homeowner and the office manager of a Richmond-area law firm. He added, "I'd prefer to be off parole, because it's like a heavy boulder over your head."

One of the dumped Parole Board members, Charles Waddell, a former state senator, does not like what happened, but he understands it.

"From a political standpoint I can't argue with what [Warner] did, asking for the resignation of the entire Parole Board," he said.

However, Waddell said, "we felt both these individuals would do well, which has proven to be the case. . . . I think we did the right thing and I have not lost a day's sleep over that in the past six years."

But some Parole-Board decisions have been failures, a handful so spectacularly tragic they grabbed the attention of elected officials with great effect on public policy.

Just months after James Albert Steele III was paroled with a good prison record in 1990, he murdered a Richmond preacher who befriended him. The slaying helped elect George Allen governor and end parole in Virginia.

Honesty, 53, on parole in Fairfax, declined to comment for this story. Martin, 57, agreed to an interview, interested in assisting the deserving among the roughly 9,000 Virginia inmates still eligible for parole.

"I don't want to create so much controversy or confusion . . . about me that it detracts" from the larger issue of parole, he said.

In 1979, an Arlington jury sentenced Martin, an insurance agent, to life in prison after convicting him of the slayings of a client and his fiancée as part of a scheme to collect on a policy.

Helen F. Fahey, later elected Arlington commonwealth's attorney, helped prosecute him. She declined to comment last week on Martin or his parole.

However, in December 2001, after Martin was released, she told The Washington Post, she was "absolutely appalled" that Parole Board members who had doubts about Martin's guilt had not consulted prosecutors.

Warner, too, was upset. Two months later he appointed Fahey chairwoman of a new Parole Board, a position she still holds.

Warner also cut the board from five full-time members to three full-time and two part-time positions.

Among other things, Warner and Gilmore accused the old board of not properly notifying local authorities before the releases. Waddell said a fax problem delayed notification of Arlington prosecutors until after Martin was released.

Otherwise, he said, all proper procedures were followed. Waddell contends that Gilmore and Warner were reacting to criticism from local prosecutors and feared a stiff political price if the parolees committed new crimes.

Waddell conceded, however, that to an extent Fahey was right -- he was impressed by claims Martin was innocent.

"We're not supposed to retry a case. But there was some doubt in our minds on whether Martin was actually guilty or not." However, he insists, "that's beside the point -- he had an outstanding record inside of prison. He has done extremely well."

Linda Pitman, then vice chairwoman of the board, said she was swayed only by Martin and Honesty's prison records.

"I actually am just thrilled that they are both doing well," Pitman said last week. "I want only the best for both of them."

Pitman was appointed by Allen, who wanted a strong victims' voice on the board. She was raped in 1989.

Martin served 22 years in prison. He was repeatedly turned down for parole but then granted it in a 4-1 board vote. He was released Dec. 21, 2001.

Martin got married last year and helps care for his 93-year-old mother. He works for Richmond lawyer Brent Jackson, who said he has known Martin for decades.

"He's a very good employee," said Jackson, who believes Martin is innocent of the murders.

Martin said it has not been difficult to stay out of trouble. He has a car, friends, family and other support that many parolees lack. Also, he said, he does not have a substance-abuse problem. He tries to help others on parole, he said.

There are people in prison who belong there and shouldn't be paroled, he said. But there are others who, "if given an opportunity, could do every bit as good as I've done and probably better," he added.

"I'm a very fortunate guy," Martin said. "I just want to live the rest of my life, whatever's left of it, out here and not in there."
Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com.