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
Reduce court fines and fees, prevent disenfranchisement, demilitarize police departments, eliminate mandatory minimums? I’ve got a great idea for those, as well: end the war on drugs 4/9
Oh, and police and prison budgets are bloated, driving state and municipal governments into debt, with no societal benefit to show for it. So in order to save a crap ton of cash we’re also going to end the war on drugs 5/9
In redistributing $$ savings, racial equity is paramount. And we do that through reinvestment in Black communities, incl through poverty reduction programs demonstrated to lead to less drug use & lower crime, pretty much rendering pointless...you guessed it, the war on drugs 6/9
Two bills in 2021 hold the most promise in this regard: legalization of marijuana & defelonization of simple drug possession. The latter (no bill # yet) is patroned by @SallyLHudson and would make possession of a Schedule I/II narcotic a misdemeanor instead of a felony 7/9
If you think that sounds controversial, ask yourself, if we had NO drug laws right now, how would you propose to treat people caught with drugs? Would you put them in prison? Take away their civil rights? Stamp them with a scarlet letter that impedes employment/housing/etc? 8/9
Oh, you wouldn't do that? Then why are we doing it now? Maybe we ought to stop, huh? @SallyLHudson's bill wouldn't affect punishment for drug dealing, it would just allow us to start treating drugs as what they are: not a crime, and at most a public health problem 9/9
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THREAD in which I explain how Virginia actually repealed the death penalty in 2004, with a delayed enactment clause to 2021 (and why we can solve a lot MORE problems by giving public defenders adequate pay and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
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.
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