Fishback v. Commonwealth

In this appeal, we primarily consider whether a defendant in a non-capital felony trial is entitled to have the jury instructed that, pursuant to Code § 53.1-165.1, parole has been abolished in Virginia.

BACKGROUND

Because our review is limited to the issue of whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the abolition of parole, a succinct statement of the facts, presented in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as the party prevailing below, will suffice.

On March 24, 1997, the grand jury of Fauquier County returned indictments against Richard David Fishback charging…