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Bloomington native re-release on parole approved

Dustin Turner smiling. He's wearing a light blue denim shirt and has reddish hair and a beard.
Courtesy photo
/
Linda Summitt
Dustin Turner

Bloomington native Dusty Turner has been approved to be released on parole for a second time this year after a brief re-incarceration.

Turner was initially released on March 5 after spending 30 years behind bars for a wrongful murder conviction at Middle River Regional Jail in Staunton, Va.

Then on April 21, he was arrested by Virginia State Police for an alleged parole violation.

According to a press release from the Dusty Turner Coalition for Justice, he's spent an additional four weeks in jail because of a “misunderstanding involving a vague and undefined supervision condition.” The condition required Turner to disclose his status as a registered sex offender to partners.

Read more: Bloomington native still in jail after probable cause found for parole violation

"After 31 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, the additional four weeks taken from his life as a result of his arrest and reincarceration have been deeply traumatizing, especially for Dusty’s family," they said.

The state parole board eventually issued a notice that he should be released to continue parole on May 14.

Turner is hoping to return to Indiana soon to be with his 78-year-old mother and other family members.

Indiana has admitted Turner to its parole and probation system, but Virginia still has to act on the interstate transfer process.

Clayton Baumgarth is a multimedia journalist for Indiana Public Media. He gathers stories from the rural areas surrounding Bloomington. Clayton was born and raised in central Missouri, and graduated college with a degree in Multimedia Production/Journalism from Drury University.
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