This year, we are participating in many work groups, coalitions, and working with local and national organizations to bring change in Virginia, to those who have been behind
This year, we are participating in many work groups, coalitions, and working with local and national organizations to bring change in Virginia, to those who have been behind bars for 10+ years, and done the work to earn their second chance. We believe this should not be limited to those with specific crimes, and should be about the people themselves, and how they’ve rehabilitated and educated themselves in the toughest part of their lives.
This page will be updated as the legislative session continues.
Second Look (Reconsideration)
‘Second Look’ is a reconsideration concept that would allow the currently incarcerated to petition the courts for a reduced sentence after they have spent 10+ years behind bars. They must also have noted good behavior, and completed programming that is available to them.
In Virginia, we are proposing the right to petition after 10+ years of incarceration for those sentenced age 25 and younger, and 15+ years for those sentenced for crimes after age 26.
UPDATE 2022 GA:
HB 906 https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=221&typ=bil&val=hb906
SB378 https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+SB378
Repealing All Mandatory Minimums
We support repealing all 200+ mandatory minimums in Virginia. Ideally, this would be retroactive, to allow people who are serving time on these sentences a chance to be reconsidered.
We have been working on this issue for the past 2 years, speaking on our impacted loved ones. http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2021/apr/08/rally-calls-end-mandatory-minimum-sentences/
UPDATE 2022 GA: SB104 https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+SB104
VADOC Oversight
We support expanded oversight of the Virginia Department of Corrections. Currently, they are one of the only government agencies that do not have a structured oversight.
“The Virginia Department of Corrections has an annual budget of $1.4 billion, employs more than 12,000 individuals, and is responsible for the health and safety of more than 25,000 Virginians in its custody,” stated a letter written by ACLU and other organizations in early 2021. “Yet its operations are largely hidden from public view and scrutiny, and the job of monitoring VDOC falls largely to VDOC itself. Legislators, advocates, and the public rely largely on VDOC to publish accurate and reliable information about the Department’s compliance with laws and best practices, and its treatment of people in its custody. This presents a significant conflict of interest, as the Department has a strong incentive to present information that is self-serving rather than conduct an honest accounting of its successes and failures.”
UPDATE 2022 GA: HB 655: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB0655
The SIP 