The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests across the country has lawmakers in Virginia considering criminal justice reform. And, there’s already some bipartisan agreement emerging during this time of crisis.
Members of the Legislative Black Caucus say their patience has run out, and now is the time to change a broken criminal justice system that devalues black lives.
Delegate Lamont Bagby is a Democrat from Richmond who is chairman of the caucus.
“I think it’s going to require Democrats, Republicans, blacks and whites, legislators to focus in on how we come up with solutions. But the time is now," Bagby says. "We shouldn’t have to wait for the next election to be promised action.”
He suggests things like standardizing training for police officers across Virginia and instituting civilian review boards to look at officer-involved shootings.
Delegate Jason Miyares is a Republican from Virginia Beach and a former prosecutor. He says he’d be open to both of those ideas. Plus, he even supports the idea of putting outside prosecutors in charge of officer-involved deaths.
“There is that option, and I think the question is whether we change it from making it an option to making it a mandate," he says. "And I think to me, it is critical that we restore some common-sense faith in our law enforcement. And that seems like a good first step.”
He says he expects to see the next session to see a bipartisan consensus emerge to demand accountability from law enforcement in an effort to restore confidence.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
