Virginia Criminal Justice Town Hall: Rolling Back Mandatory Minimums and Providing Second Chances

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Mandatory minimums don't work. For any purpose. They don't reduce crime rates, they don't reduce recidivism rates, they don't make the court process more efficient, and they aren't better for victims.  

Join FAMM, Americans for Prosperity VA, Ladies of Hope Ministries, and Justice Forward Virginia, on December 8, 2020 from 6:30-8pm, for a virtual town hall discussion on the need to repeal Virginia’s mandatory minimum sentences. Learn and effectively take action ahead of the 2021 legislative session. Hear from state policymakers, impacted families, and advocates working to advance reform. The event is open to the public, but registration is required.

Moderator: Kevin Ring - President, FAMM

Speakers:

  • Senator John S. Edwards - Virginia State Senator, District 21

  • Andy Elders - Policy Director, Justice Forward Virginia

  • Jacob Fish - Deputy State Director, Americans For Prosperity

  • Virginia Stephanie Morales - Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Portsmouth

  • Karen Morrison - National Advocate, Ladies of Hope Ministries

  • Lavern Rushin - Mother of Matthew Rushin and Advocate

  • Darlene Wells - Jesse Dunaway’s Significant Other and Advocate

Virginia enacted its first mandatory minimum law in 1968, and today Virginia has dozens of mandatory minimum laws that apply to a wide range of offenses resulting in excessive sentences with no consideration of mitigating factors. Traditionally, judges weigh the facts and circumstances of a particular case and the defendant’s personal and criminal history in arriving at a just sentence.  Their job is to make sure the “punishment fits the crime.”  Mandatory minimum laws remove this power from judges, and require them to impose a minimum period of incarceration no matter what the facts are. 

 Va. Code § 18.2-12.1 defines Mandatory Minimum punishment as

Mandatory minimum’ wherever it appears in this Code means, for purposes of imposing punishment upon a person convicted of a crime, that the court shall impose the entire term of confinement, the full amount of the fine and the complete requirement of community service prescribed by law. The court shall not suspend in full or in part any punishment described as mandatory minimum punishment.


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