Over victim family's objections, parole board frees Richmond killer with drug and gun record

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's parole board has voted to release Isaac Terrell Taylor, convicted of second-degree murder and armed robbery in Richmond, according to the board's own August 2026 decisions report.

The board's August report lists Taylor, 49, as granted discretionary parole, recorded Aug. 28 and certified Aug. 31. His Richmond Circuit Court record includes a second-degree murder conviction with a 25-year sentence, a conviction for robbery of a residence with use of a gun or simulated gun carrying 15 years, and two convictions for using a firearm in the commission of a felony, one recorded as a second-or-subsequent offense with five years and one as a first offense with three years. Those judgments are dated July 1999. The report estimates he has served 28 years, 7 months and 9 days.

This newsroom did not find contemporaneous news coverage or a court opinion describing the facts of the killing that could be confidently matched to Taylor, and the board's record does not name the victim. This account is therefore limited to the offenses, sentences and time served the board lists.

The rest of the record: The board's record shows earlier convictions as well: a Richmond General District Court conviction for driving on a revoked license, second or subsequent offense, dated July 16, 1998, and two Richmond Circuit Court cocaine-possession convictions dated Jan. 8, 1999, and July 16, 1999, carrying five and 10 years. One of the firearm counts is recorded as a second-or-subsequent offense.

Why the board says he should go free: The board's listed reasons included excellent institutional adjustment, being infraction-free for at least 24 months, demonstrated rehabilitation, improved coping and decision-making skills, completion of treatment, insight into the factors behind his crime, a documented support network, the prosecuting attorney's support for release, clear acceptance of responsibility, time served aligning with sentencing goals, significant community support, a structured reentry plan, his age at the time of the offense, educational milestones and a low risk-assessment score.

According to the Aug. 27 meeting minutes, an immediate family member of the victim spoke in opposition to parole, and Victim Services Coordinator Cindy Yadav read a statement from another family member who also opposed it. Taylor addressed the board. The vote was 5-0. Members noted he had been infraction-free since 2020; two members said the prosecuting attorney "does not oppose" release, while two said the prosecutor "supports" it. Board Member Valerie Boykin also cited his role as a peer mentor.

To be fair to the board, every reason quoted above comes from its own record, and members explained their votes on the record at the Aug. 27 meeting. The question for voters is whether those reasons outweigh what the court ordered and what victims told the board.

What the numbers say about Richmond: Violent crime in Richmond has improved over the past decade, according to the state's own figures. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, using Virginia State Police data, reported 436.9 violent index crimes per 100,000 residents in Richmond in 2025, against 574.7 in 2016, down 24%. Property crime stood at 3,287.3 per 100,000 in 2025, down 9% from 3,611.8 in 2016. For comparison, the statewide violent crime rate was 210.5 per 100,000 in 2025, and the median Virginia locality came in at 172.9, according to the August 2026 DCJS report. DCJS cautions that the figures are subject to revision.

This is what Democratic control of the parole board looks like. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, appointed every one of the five members who voted in August, replacing the board she inherited, and the Democratic-led General Assembly confirmed them in Senate Joint Resolution 209 in March. Her chair, Shannon Dion, was previously named director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Board member Tyrone Nelson has run for the Henrico Board of Supervisors as a Democrat. Under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the board granted parole at a rate of about 1.6% in 2023, according to Bolts magazine. In August alone, Spanberger's board granted 14 of the 44 parole cases it decided, about 32%, according to its own monthly report. Statewide, a Washington Examiner analysis found Spanberger's board had a 13.89% release rate in 2026, more than 10 times the 1.23% rate under Youngkin's board in 2025, and WJLA 7News counted 48 grants in 205 discretionary and geriatric cases since May, about 23%. None of that means the governor personally ordered any individual release; the board votes, and the record shows how each member voted. But the governor picks the board, and the board answers to her: by law its members serve at the governor's pleasure.

Parole is not the end of a sentence. The board can revoke it, and in August it did revoke parole in three cases, while letting six other violators stay on the street. The board's report does not say when Taylor will walk out or where he will live, questions Richmond residents are entitled to ask.

Email the Richmond City Council:
Andrew Breton, andrew.breton@rva.gov,
Katherine Jordan, katherine.jordan@rva.gov,
Kenya Gibson, kenya.gibson@rva.gov,
Sarah Abubaker, sarah.abubaker@rva.gov,
Stephanie Lynch, stephanie.lynch@rva.gov,
Ellen Robertson, ellen.robertson@rva.gov,
Cynthia Newbille, cynthia.newbille@rva.gov,
Reva Trammell, reva.trammell@rva.gov,
Nicole Jones, nicole.jones@rva.gov,

Email the Richmond City Council:
Andrew Breton, andrew.breton@rva.gov,
Katherine Jordan, katherine.jordan@rva.gov,
Kenya Gibson, kenya.gibson@rva.gov,
Sarah Abubaker, sarah.abubaker@rva.gov,
Stephanie Lynch, stephanie.lynch@rva.gov,
Ellen Robertson, ellen.robertson@rva.gov,
Cynthia Newbille, cynthia.newbille@rva.gov,
Reva Trammell, reva.trammell@rva.gov,
Nicole Jones, nicole.jones@rva.gov,

Richmond is an independent city in the Richmond region.