Lawmakers are considering a bill that would transform how sentencing works in Virginia.
Back in the 1990's, the General Assembly passed a number of mandatory minimum sentences, an effort to get tough on crime. Now those mandatory minimum sentences are being criticized as contributing to mass incarceration while failing to deter crime.
Jonathan Iglesias with the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance says mandatory minimums are not a solution for victims.
"This disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities while providing little real safety for victims or true accountability for offenders," Iglesias says.
John Jones at the Virginia Sheriffs Association says ditching mandatory minimum sentences will put a target on law-enforcement officers.
"We've all seen how words matter," Jones explains. "We think this bill will matter by saying that it's not as serious as it used to be to assault a law-enforcement officer. Keep in mind it is a minimum mandatory, not a maximum mandatory. So that still leaves room for discretion by the court."
There’s only one mandatory minimum sentence that won’t be abolished by this bill. The most serious crimes – like murder – will still have a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. The bill abolishing all the other mandatory minimum sentences passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
