Moving Forward: A Letter From Our Executive Director
Our movement to reform Virginia’s criminal legal system is entering unchartered territory. After decades of being told “no” by members of both political parties, advocates for criminal justice reform in Virginia achieved remarkable victories in 2020 and 2021. Together, we abolished the death penalty, legalized marijuana, ended mandatory jury sentencing, placed unprecedented limits on pretextual policing, repealed presumptions against bail, capped supervised probation terms and jail time for technical violations, expanded record sealing to include convictions, and enacted scores of other much-needed reforms.
After two years and three legislative sessions of profound changes, the appetite for these changes diminished in the General Assembly. In 2022 and 2023, our opponents not only refused to consider new reform proposals, but introduced bills to repeal much of the progress that we made in 2020 and 2021. Our opponents filed bills to reinstate the death penalty and repeal record sealing, bring back pretextual policing and presumptions against bail, and remove caps on jail time for technical probation violations. Rather than abolish mandatory minimum sentences, reform opponents doubled down on them. Instead of giving people who have already served 15 years a second look, our opponents put on a shameful display in a House subcommittee, lying about what the bill would do and denigrating the state senator who patroned the legislation.
While advocates could have watched our progress slip away, we came together and protected it. We showed up at the General Assembly to defend evidence-based reforms with grassroots support. The changes we fought so hard for are still on the books. The Commonwealth of Virginia no longer has the power to execute people convicted of crimes. Police officers cannot stop a driver for hanging a tree air freshener on their rearview mirror or use the odor of marijuana as cause to search a vehicle. In less than two years—another round of elections notwithstanding—tens of thousands of people with criminal convictions on their records will be able to seal them.
Since Justice Forward Virginia was founded in 2017, we have learned a lot about what’s necessary to make historic changes to Virginia’s archaic criminal legal system, and what’s necessary to protect that progress. In that time, Justice Forward Virginia has become an essential piece of an energetic ecosystem of advocacy groups, direct service organizations, and committed individuals organizing for change. We have worked alongside anyone who shares our vision and commitment to a criminal legal system that prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment, treatment over long sentences, and offers directly impacted people a hand rather than stamping them with the scarlet letter of a felony conviction.
That’s why we are so pleased to announce an exciting development at Justice Forward Virginia. This summer, the board of directors removed the “interim” from my title, making me the full-time executive director. I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to lead a statewide organization founded by public defenders and dedicated to making evidence-based reforms. You can read my introduction here, so let me use this moment to discuss what you can expect from Justice Forward in the coming months.
We start from a few basic premises: Virginia’s criminal legal system is too big, too harsh, and racist. Moreover, the current system does not make our communities safer. From policing to pretrial detention, prosecutorial discretion to probation, nearly everything about Virginia’s criminal legal system makes life more difficult for the people whose lives it impacts, without obvious benefits to affected communities. Our approach to these problems is summarized by four big ideas:
End modern-day prohibition. When the prohibition of alcohol failed, Americans acknowledged it. We legalized and regulated the substance, and we moved on. The prohibition on marijuana and other “controlled” substances continues, despite its failure. We should acknowledge the failure, break down barriers, leave personal choices alone, and provide public health solutions to treat substance use disorders.
End dragnet policing. Dragnet policing is the systematic targeting of specific neighborhoods and groups of people. Another word for this is racism. We must end the police practice of stopping people based on a racist hunch. We must also prevent our state and local law enforcement from engaging in mass surveillance.
Eliminate the trial penalty. Only 10% of all Virginia criminal cases go to trial; most are resolved by plea. Prosecutors use a variety of ways to scare accused individuals from choosing a jury trial. No one should be penalized by the commonwealth for exercising a constitutional right.
Stop relying on police, jails and prisons to solve social problems. Incarceration creates more harm than it prevents. Incarcerated people and their loved ones have shorter life expectancies than people who do not experience incarceration. Jails and prisons do not fix income inequality; they exacerbate it. We must invest in solutions that keep people safe—not police, jails, and prisons.
As we gear up for the 2024 General Assembly session, expect to see specific legislative proposals consistent with these four ideas. With roughly a third of the Virginia House and Senate’s membership expected to turn over this November, we will have more new legislators to educate than ever before. As soon as we’ve picked a date for our 2024 Lobby Day, we will invite you to join us in Richmond.
After two years of protecting our hard-fought victories, we have spent this summer traveling and talking with Virginians, legislators, candidates, and coalition partners. We have listened to what people in every part of Virginia have to say, and the message is clear: they want solutions, not scare tactics.
Virginians want a criminal legal system that looks very different from the one we have. They’re not interested in continuing the failed policies that got us here: racist policing, the War on Drugs, punishment for poverty, harsh sentencing, and criminal records that last a lifetime. They want better support systems for people with substance use and mental health issues, increased opportunities for incarcerated people to rehabilitate themselves and earn early release, and more humane treatment of people at every stage of the system. In a word, Virginians value compassion over punishment.
Punishment and public safety are not the same. Not even close. We can all hope for a Commonwealth that seeks to reduce the causes of harm, rather than one that reacts harshly after harm has occurred. Compassion will bring us all closer to public safety than punishment ever will.
The movement to reform Virginia’s criminal legal system has been building for decades. I’m only beginning to understand how many people have joined. Together, we can do this. Reach out to me any time at rob@justiceforwardva.com. Thanks to you, we’re moving justice forward in Virginia.
In solidarity,
Rob Poggenklass
Executive Director
Justice Forward Virginia