Update to original story: 01/07/26 at 3:20 pm: The Virginia Parole Board certified the votes granting Dusty Turner parole, according to a post from The Free Dusty Turner Instagram account on January 7. DX reached out to the advocacy group’s spokeswoman for a timetable for when Dusty might be released. She responded, “We don’t have any information on his release at this time.”
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A Virginia parole hearing scheduled for Wednesday could clear the way for the release of Dustin “Dusty” Turner after more than 30 years in prison.
Turner, a former Navy SEAL trainee who has been imprisoned since the mid-1990s for the murder of 21-year-old Jennifer Evans, participated in an exclusive audio interview with The Dallas Express shortly before the Virginia Parole Board’s public hearing on January 7.
This hearing is a procedural requirement to finalize an earlier parole vote, reportedly conducted in October 2025.
Turner reflected on decades of incarceration, repeated appeals, and what he described as systemic failures that have kept him behind bars despite judicial findings casting doubt on the prosecution’s original theory of the case.
“I try to look at things objectively, even as I endure daily hardships and, worst of all, witness the hardships and heartbreak that my family have endured unjustly,” Turner told DX. “Injustice is, unfortunately, part of the human experience.”
Turner added that he has encountered other inmates in Virginia prisons whom he believes were wrongfully convicted.
“Politics and egos are often what keep wrongfully convicted people in prison long after their innocence is known.”
The parole hearing, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, is intended to certify parole votes that advocates say were delayed by additional evaluations ordered by the board. State officials have not publicly detailed those internal deliberations.
Advocates for Turner announced the hearing on social media earlier this week, encouraging supporters to attend virtually and describing the proceeding as the final step needed for his release, according to posts shared by the Free Dusty Turner social media campaign.
Turner was convicted in a 1996 trial of abducting and killing Evans in Virginia Beach and sentenced to 82 years in prison. A co-defendant later recanted trial testimony in sworn statements, saying he acted alone, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express.
In 2008 and 2009, a Virginia Circuit Court appeals court ruled that the co-defendant, Billy Joe Brown, acted independently and that Turner had no role in the murder. However, higher courts declined to overturn the conviction, citing concerns about recantation evidence.
In the interview, Turner again acknowledged helping dispose of Evans’ body after her death, a fact long cited by prosecutors and critics. He framed that decision as a moral failure rather than proof of guilt for the underlying crimes.
“Accountability begins with an extremely raw and truthful account of your actions,” Turner said. “I take full responsibility for my actions then and now, and I always hold myself accountable for any mistakes I make, especially if those mistakes impact others.”
Turner said his actions were shaped by what he described as a misplaced obligation to a fellow SEAL trainee. “[My co-defendant] later felt justified in implicating me in his crime because I ‘broke the seal code’ by telling my superior officer and the detectives what had happened,” he said.
Asked what he would say to the outgoing Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin or the parole board, Turner urged decision-makers to reexamine the record.
“I would simply say to look at the facts, both in 1995 and today,” he said. “No one who digs into my case can say that I am guilty of either an abduction or murder.”
The timing of the hearing is significant. It comes just days before Youngkin’s term ends. While a pardon would require direct executive action, parole certification would allow Turner’s release if all procedural requirements are met, according to advocates.
Turner, now in his 50s, said he has spent his years in prison trying to remain grounded and purposeful.
Reflecting on the recent Christmas season, he said, “I love each season, and each day that I get outside is beautiful regardless of the weather.”
“How I have been able to cope with the challenges of each day after 11,000 plus days in prison for crimes I did not commit is difficult to sum up in so many words,” he said. “I expect to unravel and express all of that after my long-overdue release.”
