Parole board revokes several paroles and denies multiple parole requests after contested hearings

The Committee on Parole met in a multi-site session and issued a string of decisions affecting more than half a dozen individuals, including revocations and denials of parole.

Acting Chair Pete Freeman opened the session and presided over hearings by phone and at correctional facilities. In a revocation hearing for Kevin Carter (DLC 617677), board member Mister Knox pointed to evidence recovered at the scene — a Glock 9mm and a separate 40-caliber magazine — and said the physical evidence and photos made it “hard for me to believe” Carter was unaware of the weapons. Carter told the board a passenger, Devin Richard, ran from the car and later signed an affidavit saying the gun was his. The panel voted to revoke Carter’s parole; members on the record concurred.

At another hearing, the board revoked the parole of Alan Walters (DLC 505145) after reviewing police reports, a dismissed charge, and conflicting statements. Walters’ girlfriend, Penny Oliver, and a supporter described him as nonviolent; his attorney asked the board to keep Walters on parole and require domestic‑violence programming, saying the district attorney declined to file charges after reviewing evidence. The panel, citing reported injuries in police records and inconsistent accounts, voted to revoke.

The board declined to revoke parole for Tyrone Andrews (DLC 705541) after family testimony that the June 23 incident was a verbal argument, not physical violence. Instead members added a condition: Andrews must enroll in anger‑management classes.

Several parole requests were denied following testimony and prosecutorial opposition. Paul Farinas (DLC 172985), who served roughly 20 years under a negotiated plea in a fatality case, faced strong victim‑family and Jefferson Parish assistant district attorney opposition and was denied parole. The DA told the panel Farinas’ plea and the seriousness of the crime weighed against release.

Benny Walker (DOC 380215), convicted of vehicular homicide, was denied parole after the assistant district attorney for East Baton Rouge urged the board to keep him incarcerated until his good‑time release next year; the panel also directed that, if released later, Walker have no contact with the victim’s family and that restitution be addressed.

Charles Jones (DLC 495599) sought parole after serving about 21 years on a 25‑year sentence for forcible rape of a child. The district attorney and the victim’s family strongly opposed release, and board members noted Jones had not completed required sex‑offender programming. The panel denied parole and urged completion of offender treatment before reconsideration.

Christy Lynn Fowler (DLC 769564) described sobriety and participation in in‑custody programming; despite praise from a facility warden, the panel denied parole because Fowler had multiple prior DWI convictions and a full‑term date less than a year away. Johnny Ray Norris Jr. (DOC 754438) was also denied parole after the board reviewed his supervision history, drug‑distribution convictions and opposition from local law enforcement.

The board’s votes were grounded in a mix of documentary evidence (police reports, recovered items, plea records), witness testimony, prosecutor statements, and the panel’s assessment of whether applicants completed recommended programming. In cases where the board did not revoke parole, it often added conditions requiring therapy or classes.

Next steps for those denied or revoked include recalculation of time served, enrollment in recommended programs where directed, and possible reconsideration at future hearings.