A recent Reason.com editorial argues that the recent trend among states to restore the voting rights of convicted felons has had no discernible partisan impact, as some politicians feared. Since 1997, an estimated 800,000 people have regained the right to vote thanks to state reforms. The author cites a recent report by Nicole Porter of the Sentencing Project entitled “Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform, 1997-2010.”

Kentucky and Virginia continue to be the only states that ban felons from voting for life, with the restoration of rights limited to governor action. According to the Sentencing Project report, nearly 20% of African-Americans in VA and 24% in KY are disenfranchised. The National Conference of State Legislatures does a nice job of summing up states’ approaches to felon disenfranchisement and restoration of rights. See its website here.

Posted by dylan at 12:54 AM | No Comments »
Filed under: Criminal Justice, Re-Entry

A recent New York Times video describes the moral dilemma of innocent prisoners, who must choose between maintaining their integrity or taking responsibility for crimes they didn’t commit in hopes of an earlier release.

Watch The Innocent Prisoner’s Dilemma.

Posted by dylan at 10:00 PM | No Comments »
Filed under: Criminal Justice

Inmates at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center recently planted a 1/4-acre garden that will provide fresh produce for them while saving taxpayer money. Those tending the garden are part of the Community Work Force program, which gives low-risk inmates time off their sentence in exchange for their labor.

Read more at Virginia Beach Jail Inmates Plant New Garden.

Posted by dylan at 9:14 PM | No Comments »
Filed under: Criminal Justice, Re-Entry

In March, Virginia’s drug courts appeared to be on the verge of elimination, as the House of Delegates approved a budget that stripped the courts of their funding. The Senate’s budget included funding for the courts, however, and a compromise between the two left their funding intact.

Drug courts emphasize therapy, drug testing and court appearances while allowing participants to work and/or attend school. Not only do graduates boast an impressive recidivism rate of 18% in two years, but the program costs about $19,000 less than a year in jail, according to this Daily Progress article.

Read the story: Drug courts avoid attempt to cut funding

Posted by dylan at 10:40 PM | No Comments »
Filed under: Uncategorized

Since even before the study cited in the previous post (“Reports of Sexual Abuse Plague Juvenile Detention Facilities”), the safety and treatment of incarcerated juveniles has been an issue of concern for Virginia lawmakers. An editorial in yesterday’s Washington Post touts two bills up for consideration: SB259, which seeks to limit the number of youth held in adult prisons while being tried as adults, and SB585, which would extend the availability of state-funded lawyers to incarcerated juveniles beyond conviction, rather than just during trial.

Read it here:
Va. legislators should embrace bills to protect juveniles in prison

Posted by dylan at 4:36 AM | No Comments »
Filed under: Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice