Second-offense drug dealer from Mecklenburg walks after 10 years of a long sentence

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's parole board has voted to release William Kennedy Robinson, a Mecklenburg County-area defendant with drug distribution convictions, according to the board's own August 2026 decisions report.

The board's August report lists Robinson, 65, as granted discretionary parole, recorded Aug. 28 and certified Aug. 31; the meeting minutes say he was considered for geriatric conditional release. His Mecklenburg Circuit Court judgment, dated Nov. 15, 2016, lists two convictions for distributing or selling a Schedule I or II drug for profit, each carrying 20 years, all suspended, and three convictions for manufacturing or distributing a Schedule I or II drug, recorded as second offenses, each carrying 40 years with 33 suspended. The report estimates he has served 10 years, 5 months and 24 days, the shortest time served among those granted in August.

This newsroom did not find contemporaneous news coverage of the case that could be confidently matched to Robinson. The minutes state that "due to the nature of the offenses, no victims were involved in this case."

The rest of the record: Three of the 2016 counts are recorded as second offenses, which under Virginia's drug-distribution statute indicates an earlier distribution conviction; the earlier case itself is not listed in the board's August report.

Why the board says he should go free: The board's listed reasons included infraction-free conduct since incarceration, a structured reentry plan, participation in correctional and vocational programs, prosocial conduct, a medical condition, improved coping skills, vocational achievements, excellent institutional adjustment, a low risk-assessment score, clear acceptance of responsibility, a stable release plan, significant community support, no history of violence, demonstrated rehabilitation and faith or community participation.

The Aug. 27 minutes record a 5-0 vote. Board Member Tyrone Nelson cited a medical condition and a "severe long-term disability limiting basic activity."

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 Mecklenburg County: Violent crime in Mecklenburg County has gotten worse over the past decade, according to the state's own figures. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, using Virginia State Police data, reported 230.4 violent index crimes per 100,000 residents in Mecklenburg County in 2025, against 210.7 in 2016, up 9%. Property crime stood at 1,069.9 per 100,000 in 2025, down 19% from 1,317.9 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 Robinson will walk out or where he will live, questions Mecklenburg County residents are entitled to ask.

Mecklenburg County is a county in Southside Virginia. Its county seat is Boydton.

Email the Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors:

Andy R. Hargrove, Supervisor (District 1) — andy.hargrove@mecklenburgva.com,
Brenda Blackwell, Supervisor (District 2) — brenda.blackwell@mecklenburgva.com,
Tom Tanner, Supervisor (District 3) — tom.tanner@mecklenburgva.com,
Claudia H. Lundy, Supervisor (District 4) — claudia.lundy@mecklenburgva.com,
Dennis Spence, Supervisor (District 5) — dennis.spence@mecklenburgva.com,
Sterling Wilkinson, Supervisor (District 6) — sterling.wilkinson@mecklenburgva.com,
James D. Jennings, Supervisor (District 7) — james.jennings@mecklenburgva.com,
David A. Brankley, Supervisor (District 8) — david.brankley@mecklenburgva.com,
Kirk Gravitt, Supervisor (District 9) — kirk.gravitt@mecklenburgva.com,

Sheriff

R.W. "Bobby" Hawkins Jr., Sheriff — rhawkins@mcsova.us

Commonwealth's Attorney

R. Allen Nash, Commonwealth's Attorney — allen.nash@mecklenburgva.com