A parole board in Virginia released on parole a man convicted of the 1979 premeditated capital murder of a young Richmond police officer.

According to The Hill, the parole board recently released Vincent Lamont Martin without consulting with the family of the slain officer—Michael Patrick Connors, who was just 23 years old at the time of his death—on parole despite having previously concluded on multiple occasions that Martin was "too risky to release."

Martin and a group of accomplices had just committed an armed robbery of a convenience store and were traveling the wrong way down a one-way street when he was spotted by Officer Connors.

It is unclear if Connors knew at the time that he was dealing with a man who had just committed a violent gun crime as he initiated a traffic stop.

As Connors exited his patrol vehicle, Martin got out of his car, drew a firearm and shot the officer multiple times. Martin then approached the fallen officer, stood over him, and coldly executed him with four shots at close range into his head.

Martin was tried and convicted for the premeditated capital murder and sentenced to death by electrocution.

That execution never happened, and four decades after murdering the young law enforcement officer, Martin—now 64 years old—walks free.