Chapter 13 - The Parole BoardThe hearing room at the State Department of Corrections was small, cold, and sterile. Three parole board commissioners sat behind a high curved desk, reviewing digital case files on their monitors.
Derek Vance sat at a small wooden table on the left side of the room, flanked by an attorney provided by a legal aid clinic. He wore a dark green prison uniform, his hands un-cuffed for the hearing, but his posture was stooped, his face pale and hollowed out by fourteen months of institutional life.
When the heavy oak doors opened and Frances walked in alongside Joselyn and Sandra Okafor, Derek’s head snapped up.
For a second, his eyes flashed with a desperate, pathetic hope—perhaps believing that Joselyn’s presence meant she had come to offer him a second chance or plead for his release.
The lead commissioner, a gray-haired former prosecutor named Commissioner Hayes, tapped her pen against the desk.
"Case 24-PAR-091," Commissioner Hayes announced. "In re: Derek Vance. Application for sentence commutation. We will now hear statements from the victims."
Joselyn stood up. She did not look at her mother, nor did she look at the legal team. She walked steadily to the podium in the center of the room, adjusting the microphone.
She wore a sharp gray wool blazer and trousers—the attire of a professional woman who owned her life.
"Commissioners," Joselyn began, her voice ringing clear and steady through the quiet room. "My name is Joselyn Weber. Fourteen months ago, the inmate sitting at that table stood in my apartment and told me that he took my savings and forged my mother's name to make 'business decisions' for our family."
Derek shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his eyes dropping to his hands.
"Derek Vance did not make a mistake," Joselyn continued, her gaze shifting directly to Derek with an unyielding, fire-forged strength. "He executed a calculated, eighteen-month scheme to isolate me from my family, steal my inheritance, and defraud my mother's company. He did not care about my future, my happiness, or my well-being. He cared only about what he could take."
She turned back to the commissioners.
"He claims he has been rehabilitated by fourteen months in a low-security facility," Joselyn stated calmly. "Rehabilitation requires accountability. Inmate Vance has never offered an apology, nor has he made genuine restitution without court compulsion. Granting early release would send a message that financial abuse and identity theft are minor inconveniences rather than life-altering crimes. I respectfully request his application be denied in full."
The quiet in the room was absolute.
Commissioner Hayes looked over her spectacles at Joselyn, nodding once with deep, professional respect. "Thank you, Ms. Weber."
Ten minutes later, after a brief executive conference, Commissioner Hayes struck her gavel.
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"Application for sentence commutation is denied," Commissioner Hayes declared. "Inmate Vance is ineligible for further parole review for twenty-four months."
As the guards escorted Derek toward the rear exit, he looked back at Joselyn one last time. But Joselyn wasn't looking at him. She was already gathering her trench coat, turning her back on him as she walked beside her mother into the bright hallway.
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