Someone sincerely just argued that the death penalty promotes second chances because it gives the condemned a heads-up that they’re about to die so they can set aside some time to talk to god
Virginia Senate hearing on a repeal bill, for those who are wondering about the context...
State police guy thinks it’s appalling that a human being will “ONLY” spend 40 years in a cage. Am I supposed to be shocked by that? I don’t even have memories of 40 years ago. 40 years is essentially a full adult life.
Next police guy beckons lawmakers to tell families of cops that “they don’t have to feel like this.” I’d recommend that he take the first crack — tell his family they don’t need to believe that violence solves violence, bloodlust cures pain, or state-sanctioned murder is justice.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
THREAD, PT DEUX -- it was a lovely long weekend, I’m feeling rested and energized, and lucky for you I’ve got some more great criminal justice policy ideas to share. Real exciting stuff, I promise. Let’s flesh these out: 1/9
Ok, so to reduce unnecessary contacts between police and people/communities of color, here’s what we’re going to do: end the war on drugs. 2/9
Right now we needlessly make felons out of 10,000+ Virginians per year for narcotics possession, so for that we’re going to end the war on drugs. 3/9
THREAD in which I explain how Virginia actually repealed the death penalty in 2004, with a delayed enactment clause to 2021 (and why we can solve a lot MORE problems by giving public defenders adequate pay and resources). Ready? Let’s go.... 1/13
Virginia has slowly but steadily gone from the most execution-happy state in the US to achieving a de facto moratorium on the death penalty. This process appears to have started sometime in the 2000s. 2/13
Here are the number of executions by decade in Virginia:
- 1990s: 65
- 2000s: 32
- 2010s: 8
There hasn’t been a single execution in Virginia in almost 4 years now. 3/13
What does Tim Hugo think happens to someone charged with a mandatory life offense for child sexual assault? That they just say "oh well, you've got me! I'll go serve my life sentence now." /1
Here's what happens: they realize they have nothing to lose. They require the gov't to prove its case at trial, forcing the gov't to face the prospect of re-traumatizing a child victim--or instead, plea bargaining. But how can it bargain when the only option is mandatory life? /2
It can't; not with the crime actually committed. Instead the government's plea offer must involve a "legal fiction," which is basically a lesser offense that the defendant didn't commit, but that he'll plead guilty to. /3