Originally published in the Winter 2024 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 74, printed February 21. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Winter 2024 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

Jermaine Doss, a Norfolk native who is 25 years into a life-plus-34-year sentence for a crime he did not commit, has been turned down for parole, again.

“I got the turn down December 5, 2023, and it was my 4th turn down,” Jermaine wrote the Defender. “Those reasons are static reasons, meaning that those are things I cannot change. The 3 reasons were 1) the serious nature of the crime, 2) to release me now would diminish the seriousness of the crime, 3) the board wants to see me do more time towards my sentence.

“I have done everything asked of me, jumped through every hoop, did all programs asked of me and remained infraction-free since 2006, which was my only charge, a 200 series.”

Jermaine was convicted in 1999 in connection with the murder of a white businessman, a crime that received a great deal of media attention. He was originally charged with murder-for-hire, but when the jury failed to convict him of that, the trial judge said it could consider murder as a “lesser included offense.”

The only evidence presented was the testimony of the actual confessed killer, Nathaniel McGee, who has since stated several times under oath that he only testified against Jermaine because he was told that otherwise he would face the death penalty.

McGee received 17 years for the murder, plus some time for related offenses. According to the VADOC Offender Locator web page, he is scheduled to be released April 24 of next year.

Jermaine has always maintained his innocence, saying he was set up by a crooked cop who was trying to shake him down for money. The officer who arrested Jermaine was former Detective Robert Glenn Ford, who was later sentenced to serve 12.5 years for extorting defendants and lying about it to the FBI.

Over the years, Jermaine’s family has worked tirelessly to clear his name and help him win his freedom. More than 6,000 people have signed a Chang.org petition calling for his release. In 2021, Governor Ralph Northam turned down a pardon request that had been submitted a full eight years before.

The Defenders have been supporting Jermaine Doss for nearly 15 years and will continue to do so until Justice is done.

To add your support, please sign the petition at change.org.