Criminal Justice Reform Weekly Roundup - September 12, 2020
State Updates
In a significant success for Justice Forward VA’s advocacy efforts, SB5007, Sen. Morrissey’s jury sentencing reform passed a full Senate vote Thursday. The objective of the bill is to prevent prosecutors from exploiting criminal procedure to force guilty pleas. The bill would restore balance by allowing defendants to exercise their constitutional right to a trial by jury without fear of artificially high jury sentences. Our Executive Director’s editorial on the topic was published in the Washington Post Friday.
Two bills regarding expungement of records passed the House and Senate this week. HB5146 patroned by Del. Herring and SB5043 patroned by Senator Deeds, both establish a process for the expungement of criminal records for some convictions. As it stands in VA, a criminal record lasts a lifetime, affecting employment, housing, credit, and more. The legislation also automates the process of expungement for most charges when the charges are dropped or when a person is found not-guilty. Under the current law, these individuals have to petition for expungement, which can be an expensive process.
Senator Jennifer Boysko’s conditional release of prisoners SB5034 advanced out of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Tuesday. Inmates in Virginia can already shave a maximum of 15 percent off of their sentence; earning credits by engaging in rehabilitation programs and maintaining good behavior. The newest version of Boysko’s bill maintains the current classification system but triples the maximum rate. Boysko’s bill originally maintained no exclusions, believing it to be “the best way to encourage rehabilitation, reduce recidivism and cut down on incarceration costs.” 34 states have more extensive incentives available to inmates than Virginia. The watered down bill excludes those convicted of murder, other violent offenses and sex crimes against minors. A similar bill patroned by Del. Don Scott, HB5148, was equally watered down and passed a full House vote this week. (WFXR)
A sweeping omnibus police reform bill supported by the Democrats passed the Senate Thursday on a party-line vote. SB5030 patroned by Senator Locke covers a broad spectrum of reforms: prohibiting no knock warrants, bans sex with individuals arrested by law enforcement, prohibits hiring of officers were fired or resigned during use of force investigations, expands the decertification procedure for law enforcement officers, bans chokeholds and strangleholds, requires attempts at de-escalation prior to use of force, requires warnings before shots fired, requires law enforcement to exhaust all other means prior to using deadly force, creates duty to intervene by fellow law enforcement officers, prohibits shooting at moving vehicles, requires departments to create a use of force continuum, requires comprehensive reporting by all law enforcement agencies including use of force data, requires de-escalation training and standardizes minimum training, and eliminates increased law enforcement funding if an agency fails to obtain accreditation. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
After facing sharp criticism from advocates and colleagues over Labor Day weekend Delegates Samirah and Kory voted yea for Del. Bourne’s HB5013, a modest repeal of qualified immunity. The bill, with a motion for re-vote at the request of Samirah, proved to be too provocative a measure for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Advocates have criticized the committee responsible for its death for a lack of transparency in announcing its consideration of the bill, and failure to give ample time to hear public comment. (Virginia Mercury)
Although VA has failed to pass any meaningful legislation repealing qualified immunity. Sen. Louise Lucas’ SB5024 passed the Senate this week. The bill allows the Attorney General the latitude to engage in “pattern and practice” investigations within law enforcement agencies in the state. Ahem...Portsmouth, Attorney General...Portsmouth. A similar bill, Del. Lopez’s HB5072, passed the House earlier in the week as well. (Twitter statement from Attorney General Mark Herring)
Other Updates
Research by the Stanford Open Policing Project determined that Black drivers were stopped about 43 percent more often than white drivers. Neil Gross, sociology professor at Colby College believes, “banning pretextual stops, requiring written consent for searches and holding supervisors accountable for the inequitable behavior of their officers — could bring greater justice to our roads.” The Project analyzed data on vehicle stops from 21 state patrol agencies and 35 city police departments from 2011 to 2018. Police officers in the U.S. have been found to pull over more than 19 million vehicles annually, making vehicle stops the No. 1 reason for contact between citizens and the police. Black and brown drivers are stopped disproportionately to their white counterparts. Meaningful research based reforms are long overdue. Justice Forward VA’s priority legislation banning many police pretexts have passed the House and Senate respectively during VA General Assembly’s Special Session. (New York Times)
Pittsburgh, PA - A Pittsburgh Police officer working an off-duty detail for the city arrested and threatened a young man with a taser gun last week. The officer was offended by a comment the young man had made at a local farmers market. After reviewing witness videos, Allegheny County public defender Lisa Middleman says it appears the officer is arresting the man without cause. Complaints are being filed with the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations and the Citizens Police Review Board. Investigations reveal the officer to have a long history of complaints of misconduct including pistol whipping a man. The officer had been accused prior of wrongfully arresting a man, that incident was also filed with the Citizens Police Review Board. (Pittsburgh City Paper)
Salt Lake City, UT - police shot a 13-year-old boy with autism who ran from officers while suffering a mental health crisis. The shooting happened just hours before a new policy took effect requiring officers to try de-escalation first when responding to crisis calls. Salt Lake City Police have had extensive training in de-escalation and use of non-lethal resolution for many years. The amendments to the law require those techniques must actually be used before police use any force or attempt to make an arrest. The child’s mother initially contacted the police to assist her in getting him to the hospital while he was experiencing an episode. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
The IACP/UC Center for Police Research and Policy & John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety conducted a study of the New York Police Department. The study allowed researchers to track the effects of mandatory implicit bias training as it was implemented in 2018. The study concluded that racial and ethnic disparities in law enforcement went unchanged. More than half of all people stopped were Black, and about 30% were Hispanic. In contrast, the overall population of New York City is 24% Black and 29% Hispanic. The "Fair and Impartial Policing" curriculum used in New York cost the department 5.5 million dollars for 36,000 officers. (NPR)
Los Angeles, CA - Police in Los Angeles County have killed at least 23 civilians since June of this year. Distrust of police in Black and brown communities has been decades long. Activists and advocates for social justice find that they must put immense pressure on law enforcement agencies to release information relating to police excessive use of force. Making drawing light to the racial disparities that exist there grueling and close to impossible. Residents in South L.A. have expressed that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department rarely provides safety for their communities. And racial bias in policing causes harm to their communities, particularly when they are called to assist people in crisis or with other challenges. When discussing reform, advocates in L.A. don’t want to pay for more training. They believe officers must lose the many protections that give them license to kill with impunity to be able to curb the bloodshed. One resident fears “that might not happen until the public in L.A. sees a video akin to George Floyd’s death, one that captures an entire interaction from start to finish and clearly demonstrates an officer’s disregard for human life.” “People run because of their innate fear of police,” said Marina Vergara, a South LA resident whose brother, Daniel Hernandez, was killed by police in April. She noted that some neighborhood residents arm themselves for protection: “When you are in South LA, you are not afforded the second amendment. We’re not seen as citizens who are protecting ourselves. We are seen as criminals.” (The Guardian)
Rochester, NY - Several demonstrators sat naked outside of Rochester City Hall Thursday morning, and earlier in the week at the Public Safety building to draw attention to the death of Daniel Prude. The demonstrators wore white bags over their heads, a symbolic protest of Daniel Prude's murder. Prude was naked and experiencing a mental health crisis when he encountered police. Several officers put a bag over Daniel’s head and pressed his face into the pavement for over two minutes. Prude’s formal cause of death is listed as asphyxiation. Rochester Police Chief La'Ron Singletary resigned from his position Tuesday after 20 years on the force. Singletary saying, the protests and criticism of his handling of the investigation into the March 23 incident "are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity." (Spectrum News)
Despite overwhelming evidence of the long term detriment solitary confinement creates in juveniles, it is still being utilized in nearly every state across the country. A 2017 report from the Juvenile Law Center found that almost half of juvenile facilities report using isolation to control behavior, and more than two-thirds of juvenile defenders polled reported clients who had spent time in solitary. Although a 2016 federal law prohibits the use of solitary confinement and involuntary seclusion to punish children, it is only applicable to those housed in Federal Bureau of Prison facilities. The extensive psychological and physical effects of solitary confinement can include hallucinations, anxiety, rage, insomnia, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts, lack of adequate exercise, physical changes, stunted growth, inadequate nutrition, hair loss, and problems menstruating. (The Oregonian)
In a partnership with the The Associated Press, the Marshall Project has been tracking COVID-19 in prisons across the U.S. There have been at least 121,217 cases of coronavirus reported among prisoners to date, with the highest spike in cases in August of this year. See what’s happening in your state.
The project will continue to update the data until the crisis is resolved. Attorneys, legal aids, and law students interested in assisting incarcerated individuals with COVID-19 clemency petitions in VA can sign up to help.