Justice Forward VA Profile picture
Feb 24, 2022 8 tweets 5 min read Read on X
The Need for a #SecondLook—Feb.’22 report by nonpartisan @JusticePolicy—analyzes Virginia’s heavy-handed reliance on lengthy prison sentences & reveals how extreme sentences play a significant role in our mass incarceration crisis & surging geriatric prison population.

A THREAD: Image
The number of people in VA’s prison system, which declined for the first time in 2009 after four decades of growth, has plateaued in recent years and remains plagued with dysfunction that keeps people locked up for extremely long sentences, costing us a BILLION dollars a year. 2/ Image
Virginia is a NATIONAL LEADER OF INCARCERATION. Ranking 9th by prison population size, 13th by rate in the United States, 8th by percentage of Black incarcerated population, and 20th for the number of individuals serving life or virtual life sentences……3/ Image
There remain stark disparities within the adult prison system in VA. Despite only accounting for 19% of the state population, Black people comprise 55% of the prison system. On avg, Black ppl received a sentence 62 months more for the same offense when compared to white ppl. 4/ Image
The toll of mass incarceration in VA has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of its Black and Brown citizens, with devastating consequences. This is particularly pronounced among those persons serving extreme prison sentences. 5/ Image
One in seven people in VA prisons, 4,193 individuals, is serving a life sentence or a virtual life sentence (serving at least 50yrs). Since the 1970s, this number has increased by MORE than 90%. There are little to no mechanisms for extreme sentence review in the Commonwealth. 6/ Image
Virginia’s prison population is getting older, without public safety benefit and costing taxpayers millions. The latest reporting indicates that 14% of the prison population is at least 55 years old, nearly doubling the proportion from 2011 when it was only 8%. 7/ Image
SecondLook legislation is the type of innovative policy reform and public safety strategy that can begin to address the tremendous financial and human costs of mass incarceration. @VAHouseDems @vahousegop You can read the 2022 @JusticePolicy report, here: justicepolicy.org/wp-content/upl… Image

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More from @JusticeFwdVa

Jun 17, 2022
If you care about bail reform this thread is for you: Virginians charged with a crime used to be held pretrial on mere accusation, not because they were actually a danger to anyone. Pretrial detention rates ranked higher than the nat’l average…our pretrial system was broken. 1/
Individuals should not be held on the mere accusation of a crime, so in 2021, lawmakers in the @vahouse @vasenate passed legislation ending presumptions against bail—making it law that if government wants to hold someone pretrial, it should have to convince a judge to do that. 2/
Sen. @creighdeeds SB1266 brought due process & fairness to Virginia’s bail decisions. Judges can still hold any person if a prosecutor can convince the judge the person is a danger to himself/others—changing nothing other than requiring prosecutors actually do the convincing. 3/
Read 7 tweets
Dec 31, 2021
2021 was a year of meaningful comprehensive changes to VA’s criminal justice system. As it comes to a close we’re taking a look back at what we’ve accomplished together, adding highlights to the thread throughout the day. Thanks to everyone in the movement—justice forward! 1/
Incarcerating someone for 5 yrs for stealing something worth less than $1K is facially unreasonable, but that’s exactly what VA’s Petty Larceny three strikes rule did. @KenPlum1’s HB2290 ELIMINATED the enhanced policy that put Virginians in a needless cycle of systemic abuse. 2/
With broad support, @delegateaird’s HB1990 Racial Impact Statements allowed Virginia to join a host of other states— IA, CT, FL, OR, NJ, MN, & CO—in creating mechanisms to help prevent seemingly neutral criminal justice policy from having harmful outcomes. 3/ #justiceforwardva
Read 14 tweets
Dec 17, 2021
VA abolished parole in 1995 and offers almost no mechanisms to review sentences or provide second chances to incarcerated Virginians who have worked diligently to grow, change, and repay their debt to society.

A THREAD for those who want to to join efforts to change that: 1/
VA abolished parole, replacing it w/ a “truth in sentencing” system guaranteeing incarcerated Virginians serve at least 85% of their time—leading directly to increases in the length of sentences AND elimination of one of the strongest incentives for one to rehabilitate. 2/
A Governor holds tremendous authority however: to reduce mass incarceration, improve equity in the criminal justice system, correct unjust sentencing of the past, and show mercy by using their clemency authority in real and meaningful ways. 3/
Read 9 tweets
Oct 21, 2021
The U.S. is the world’s leading jailer, with over 2M people currently caged—a 500% increase over the last 40 years. The staggering increase is no accident. It’s the result of decades of ruthless public policy decisions—driven by politically fueled crime panic narratives. 1/11
From the founding of the U.S to present, stories creating panics about crime waves or criminal behavior are ultimately met with policy that dictates the ever-expanding state surveillance and control of people of color, frankly, to make white people feel “safer.” 2/
Take the Reconstruction period of 1865 for example, when politicians leveraged white people’s fear of newly freed, enslaved Black people to create ‘Black Codes’ outlawing behaviors such as “walking without a purpose” or “walking at night.” vera.org/reimagining-pr… 3/
Read 11 tweets
Aug 9, 2021
So, just the intern here—bosses are “out of town” and I’m left to my own devices, I mean what could go wrong!? This lawyer guy poses what seems like a good question about Va. Court of Appeals judges, cool, i’m going investigate! We’ll see if I still have a “job” Mon.,A THREAD: 1/
So, check it, this hunky att’y replies to a tweet, he’s like, “does anyone know how many former Public Defenders have ever been appointed to Va’s Court of Appeals?” And I’m like, nope, but here’s my big research opportunity, you know, impress the bosses. 2/
So the GA is filling 8 judgeships. I decide to do a little digging, google’s badass, and I find this chronology, whatever you call it, it’s a list of all the judges who’ve been on the Virginia Court of Appeals since its inception in 1985: scvahistory.org/chronological-… 3/
Read 8 tweets
Aug 6, 2021
We’ll be honest, we’re worried we’re not going to see the type of professional diversity on the Court of Appeals we all know is critical to fair outcomes in our legal system. The Va. Way of filling judicial vacancies is as transparent as a brick wall, but here’s what we know: 1/6
Next week is when we’ll see votes on Court of Appeals nominees. The original 80 applicants have been narrowed down to a list of 16 candidates for the Senate and House to consider appointing to eight open Court of Appeals seats.  2/6
We don’t know the entire “List of 16” and that list will probably NOT be made public. We’re fairly certain it doesn’t include most of the top indigent defense attorneys that applied for a judgeship. 3/6
Read 6 tweets

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