House Republican Leader C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), issued the following statement:

“When the Virginia Parole Board told the Department of Corrections to release Vincent Martin, they did so incorrectly. Parole in Virginia requires that certain procedures be followed by the board for a grant of parole to be legal. In this instance, the rights of the family of the victim were systematically denied, as were the rights of other Virginians who had serious concerns about the release of Vincent Martin.”

“As we have learned from the OSIG report, those steps were not followed. As such, Mr. Martin may have been released from prison, but he has not been legally paroled. Governor Northam’s own statement in regard to the OSIG report implies that he agrees that proper procedures were not followed in this case.

“I call on Governor Northam to direct the Department of Corrections to correct this outrageous failure and return Mr. Martin to custody so the parole process may begin again, this time with proper adherence to the Code of Virginia and Parole Board policies.”