Families in Hampton Roads crushed by Gov. Youngkin’s early release reversal, meaning loved ones in prison won’t come home this summer

Starla Baker was ready for her baby brother to come home.

After 14 years in prison, William “Mann” Barco — an inmate at Greensville Correctional Center — was slated to be released July 5.

Baker lined up a construction job for him and prepared a bedroom at their mother’s house in Norfolk. She bought items he would need, such as clothing and a cellphone. Their family even had a “Welcome Home” party planned with balloons and banners — and another sibling had booked a flight from Tennessee.

But about two weeks ago, Barco called with an update: He wasn’t getting out.

“I was pulling in my driveway and he called and told me, and I literally thought he was pranking me,” Baker said.

It wasn’t a joke.

Barco, 30, and hundreds of other Virginia state prisoners are no longer eligible for early release, due to a budget amendment from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, passed by the General Assembly last month, that restricted which inmates are eligible for early release through a program that lets them earn time off for good conduct. Now, many prisoners slated to go home this summer will remain in custody, creating anger and confusion.

Lawmakers in favor of the new policy argue it will keep communities safe, but some human rights advocates fear it could have the opposite effect.

“This breaks the very fragile relationship that existed between people who are incarcerated and their families and the government,” said Shawn Weneta, policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. “It makes people not believe what they are told by their legislators, the courts and their attorneys.”

In 2020, a law expanding the state’s earned sentence credit program allowed someone imprisoned for multiple offenses to have time shaved off for good conduct from a sentence stemming from a nonviolent conviction — even if one of their other crimes was violent.

The governor’s amendment partially reversed that policy, blocking those with any violent offenses from participating. Youngkin has stated that the law was too far-reaching and explained his amendment was intended to correct “an error” that allowed those with a violent offense to benefit.

Weneta, however, believes the new policy could be counterproductive.

“All of these people are getting out anyway; none of these people are lifers,” he said.

It benefits prisons and society to include inmates with the most troubled histories in the program, Weneta said. The opportunity to earn sentence credits for good behavior often motivates people to stay out of trouble and to participate in other programs offered at prisons, such as vocational training, parenting and anger management classes, or victim impact panels, which are designed to help offenders understand how their actions hurt others.

When inmates participate in those programs, it helps prepare them to be better citizens and family members, Weneta said.

Baker, a 46-year old Norfolk resident, said her brother, who went to prison as a teenager for robbery and carjacking, regrets his mistakes and has worked to better himself in prison.

“If anything was available, he attended it,” she said, adding Barco earned his GED behind bars and learned how to lay sheet rock.

Barco’s life got off track after their parents divorced, according to his sister.

“Our dad went down the wrong path and it really affected my brother,” she said. “Then he went down the wrong road and it cost him many years of his life. It was really sad, but he has grown up; I’ve seen it happen through the years.”

Baker said the abrupt reversal prompted by Youngkin’s amendment was “completely unfair” and confusing. Her brother is now set to be released at the end of October.

“I understand the whole ‘do the crime, do your time,’ thing, but they came to him and told him he was being released,” she said.

Virginia Beach resident Chris Goings’ son is dealing with the same legal whiplash.

Terrence Goings, 40, is serving time at St. Bride’s Correctional Center in Chesapeake for a home invasion and burglary. He was originally scheduled for release in July. Now he won’t get out for another year.

“I think it’s very wrong and it’s very disappointing,” Chris Goings said. “(Lawmakers) should keep their promises; they shouldn’t be able to lie to people like this.”

Goings said his son hoped to find work as a truck driver. And he was looking forward to seeing his family, especially his 9-year-old daughter.

Gin Carter, co-founder of The Humanization Project, which works to humanize those behind bars, said she’s been flooded with emails from upset families who don’t understand how this happened.

“There’s a lot of confusion for sure,” she said. “People were planning for this; they lined up jobs and signed leases on apartments.”

Carter added that the organization spoke out against a bill similar to Youngkin’s amendment during the recent legislative session. The measure later died in a Senate subcommittee.

Seeing the new policy then pass in the budget, she said, was a massive blow.

“It’s not just cruel to the people who were told they are getting out,” she said. “It’s cruel to all the families and friends and everyone who is involved.”

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com