McAuliffe grants clemency to inmate with cancer
BY BRANDON SHULLEETA
Richmond Times-Dispatch | Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:23 pm
A Virginia inmate with terminal lung cancer will be released from prison so that he can die at home.
Rachel Thomas, a spokeswoman for Gov. Terry McAuliffe, confirmed late Wednesday that Jason Scott Davis has been granted clemency by McAuliffe.
Thomas said Wednesday night that she was not immediately able to provide any additional details about when or how Davis would be released, nor the conditions of his release.
Davis’ parents, both of the Richmond area, have been pleading for clemency for their son.
“He doesn’t have much time at all. Thank goodness that he’s going to be able to be surrounded by his family at home,” Davis’ mother, Brenda Kirby, said Wednesday night. She added that she’s grateful her son isn’t “going to die behind the iron gates.”
Davis, 35, is serving a two-year, one-month sentence.
His record stretches back to 2000, primarily for assault and battery convictions, including against family members, in Henrico and King William counties.
Davis is an inmate at the Powhatan Correctional Center and was due to be released Nov. 10. However, his parents have said they’re certain he won’t live that long.
Kirby said officials have told her family members that Davis could be released as soon as today. She said Davis will stay with his brother in Henrico County.
A spokesman with the Virginia Department of Corrections could not be reached late Wednesday night to comment on when Davis would be released.
“He’s very, very fragile, but he is alert,” Kirby said of her son who has been bedridden, adding that he’s 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs only 90 pounds.
Medical clemency for a state inmate can be granted only by the governor, and requests are not often approved. Medical clemency is reserved only for inmates who at least two physicians attest are not expected to live more than 90 days.