VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Parole Board denied parole for convicted murderer James King and will not consider him for eligibility again for another three years, the board confirmed with WTKR News 3 Friday morning.
The board's decision follows efforts from the murder victim's sister to prevent King — and other repeat violent criminals in the state — from being eligible for parole under a Virginia law regarding age.
Previous coverage: Age allows violent 72-year-old murderer parole eligibility under Virginia law
King is currently serving two life sentences for assaulting and murdering Lexie Walters back in 2020 at a Virginia Beach Days Inn. It's not his first murder conviction: He previously served 20 years in jail for violently murdering a woman in Ohio back in 1986.
Although King was recently sentenced for the Virginia Beach murder back in February, he was being considered for the possibility of parole due to his age.
Previous coverage: Woman aims to keep her sister's murderer behind bars
Under Virginia law, an inmate must be at least 65 years old with 5 years served, or 60 with 10 years served, to be considered annually for "geriatric conditional release." The current law excludes people convicted of Class 1 felonies, but King was found guilty of Class 2 felonies.
King was denied geriatric conditional release and his case was deferred for three years, which the board says is the maximum amount of time.
Previous coverage: Man gets 2nd murder conviction, this time for a woman found dead in Virginia Beach
News 3 Investigator Margaret Kavanagh interviewed Marie Jones, Lexie Walters' sister, after the board shared that King was being considered for parole. Jones says she and her family were devastated to learn the man who sexually tortured and brutally beat Lexie to death was eligible for parole.
“We thought were going to be able to heal and start to try emotionally move on a little bit when we walked out of that courtroom,” said Jones, adding that dealing with this has opened the wounds back up.
Jones is now fighting to have the Virginia law changed, calling it "Lexie’s Law," to make it tougher for repeat violent criminals to get considered to be released and do away with geriatric parole, among other changes.
