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Virginia Will Join 22 States In Abolishing The Death Penalty

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Bills abolishing the death penalty within the Commonwealth have passed both houses of the General Assembly, and Governor Ralph Northam has already expressed his support. His signature will make Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty.

Virginia will become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty after two bills passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly on Monday. 

In a release issued earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam said he looks forward to signing a legislation that outlaws the death penalty. 

Under current state law, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who is at least 18 years of age at the time of the offense and without an intellectual disability faces a sentence of life imprisonment or death. 

The identical House and Senate bills eliminate death from the list of possible punishments for a Class 1 felony. The bills do not allow the possibility of parole, good conduct allowance, or earned sentence credits. The measures will also reclassify capital murders to aggravated murders. 

The move will change the sentence for the two remaining inmates on death row to life imprisonment without eligibility of parole, good conduct allowance, or earned sentence credits. 

House Bill 2263, introduced by Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, passed the Senate Monday on a 22-16 vote following a lengthy floor debate. While both parties reached an agreement on eliminating the death penalty, Republicans argued for a proposed amendment to remove the possibility of a shortened life sentence. 

Under current state law, judges are able to suspend part of life sentences, with the exception of the murder of a law enforcement officer. Neither bill will change this policy.

In Monday’s hearing, Sen. William Stanley, R-Franklin, argued for a floor substitute that would replace capital murder charges with a mandatory minimum life sentence. The government should not have the ability to sentence people to death due to the possibility of false convictions, but those who commit “heinous” crimes should never face the possibility of parole, he said. 

“If you kill multiple people, or under the circumstances under our death penalty statute, you should not see the light of day,” Stanley said. “You should not taste liberty and freedom again.” 

Sen. Scott Surovell

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who sponsored the Senate bill that passed the House, said adopting Stanley’s amendment would introduce 14 new mandatory minimum life sentences. 

“I think it’s awfully presumptuous for us to just decide that these 14 situations deserve this one and only punishment,” Surovell said. 

Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Richmond, furthered the argument against the amendment by mentioning a Washington Post article on the recent release of Joe Ligon at age 83. Ligon was sentenced to life imprisonment at 15 years old, pleading guilty under the impression that he would be eligible for parole 10 years later, Morrissey said. He was released from prison after serving 68 years. 

“That seems to be inconsistent,” Morrissey said, referring to Stanley’s argument that while juries can get it wrong, a convicted person sentenced to life imprisonment should never be able to seek parole. “If you get it wrong, and somebody is executed, you can also get it wrong when you sentence somebody to life in prison.” 

Judges currently have the authority to ensure life sentences and will have the same authority with the bill’s passage, Surovell said.

The floor substitute by Stanley was rejected. 

“Prison Bars Jail Cell” by JobsForFelonsHub is licensed with CC BY 2.0

Concluding the hearing, Surovell offered final remarks on the importance of Virginia’s step to abolish the death penalty. He believes the new measure speaks to the commonwealth’s humility and value of human life. 

“It says a lot about how our commonwealth is going to move past some of our darkest moments in terms of how this punishment was applied and who it was applied to,” Surovell said. 

Surovell hopes that the measure’s passage will “send a message to the rest of the world that Virginia is back to leading on criminal justice.”

Northam; House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw issued a joint statement regarding the legislations’ passages. 

“Thanks to the vote of lawmakers in both chambers, Virginia will join 22 other states that have ended use of the death penalty. This is an important step forward in ensuring that our criminal justice system is fair and equitable to all.”

Written by Christina Amano Dolan, Capital News Service. Top Photo courtesy of the Virginia General Assembly website.

Advocates Frustrated by Democratic Leadership on Police Reform

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The General Assembly has made progress on police reform in Virginia, but for advocates and progressive legislators, passing reform of qualified immunity is an essential piece of the puzzle.

Virginia has made headlines in recent months for criminal justice reform measures but advocates say more needs to be done. They are disappointed that lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly recently killed proposals to reduce qualified immunity protections for police officers. 

State lawmakers so far this session have advanced bills to legalize marijuana, remove mandatory minimum sentences, and abolish the death penalty. During the special session called last year, the General Assembly banned police from using no-knock search warrants and chokeholds.

Qualified immunity shields government officials from civil liability while performing duties in their line of work, as long as their actions don’t violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known,” according to a Congressional Research Service report. 

House Bill 2045, introduced by Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, would have given citizens the power to pursue damages in state civil lawsuits where their rights were violated by a law enforcement officer. The bill also placed a cap on an individual officer’s liability. Bourne’s proposal was tabled 6-2 in the House Courts of Justice subcommittee. 

Senate Bill 1440, sponsored by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, was a narrower proposal that provided a path for lawsuits when an officer used excessive or deadly force and neck restraints. The bill died in the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 9-5 vote.

Qualified immunity is a federal doctrine established by the Supreme Court in 1982. A state legislature can’t repeal qualified immunity, but proponents of ending the practice have asked local and state governments to create legislation allowing citizens more freedom in pursuing lawsuits against police misconduct. 

During a subcommittee hearing, Bourne questioned opponents of his bill who he said consider themselves to be proponents of constitutional rights and law and order.

“It seems when we’re talking about this, and when we’re talking about people getting hurt and their constitutional rights deprived by law enforcement officers,” Bourne said, “the story becomes different.”

A portrait of Marcus-David Peters sits at the base of the Robert E. Lee monument on June 20. Photo by Andrew Ringle

Princess Blanding is a gubernatorial candidate who has advocated for criminal justice reform since the death of her brother, Marcus-David Peters. Peters was naked and unarmed when he was shot by a police officer on the side of a highway. Peters charged at the police officer who deployed his Taser and then shot Peters at least twice. Peters was experiencing a mental health crisis, according to his family. 

Blanding said eliminating qualified immunity is a necessary step to end discrimination and achieve racial justice in the commonwealth. 

“It’s like no matter what we do to prep our kids, our loved ones, it is still going to be our fate because of the pigmentation of our skin, coupled with the fact that there is no accountability,” Blanding said. “To me, that’s the harsh reality.” 

Kalia Harris, co-host of the show Race Capitol and co-executive director of the Virginia Student Power Network, or VSPN, said she was “extremely disappointed” when a judge dismissed her organization’s lawsuit against local government and local and state police. VSPN said city leaders and law enforcement violated the group’s right to free speech, assembly, and protest. Last June, VSPN students hosted an overnight teach-in outside Richmond City Hall. After several hours, the Richmond Police Department declared the event an unlawful assembly and discharged teargas and rubber bullets at the protesters.

“That night is still on replay in my head,” Harris said during the House subcommittee meeting. “Words can’t explain the trauma that we experienced.”

Blanding said it’s difficult for victims of police brutality to get lawyers to take on a qualified immunity case due to the power of police unions and the relationship of prosecutors to officers.

Blanding also said if the number of positive interactions the public has with officers outweighs the instances of police misconduct, the few suits alleging misconduct should not have an issue proceeding to court. It is important to recognize that police misconduct causes irrefutable damage and changes families lives’ forever, Blanding said.

“What we have to understand is that, when you take somebody’s life, you can’t take out the magic eraser, and erase it and try it again,” Blanding said. “You cannot press restart.” 

Princess Blanding, sister of Marcus-David Peters, speaks to protesters outside the Stuart C. Siegel Center on the first day of the 2020 General Assembly special session. Photo by Andrew Ringle

Harris said the ability to sue law enforcement agents for misconduct was the “bare minimum” of a judicial system that works for everyone.

“It doesn’t mean that they’re going to all be convicted,” she said. “It does mean that folks are able to see their day in court.” 

Police officers do not qualify for qualified immunity if they cannot demonstrate the actions that they took were reasonable, said Wayne Huggins, the executive director of the Virginia State Police Association. He said officers must prove they upheld the U.S. Constitution, the laws of the commonwealth and the policies of their individual department. 

“The word that needs to be focused upon and understood is qualified,” Huggins said. “We have to qualify for that immunity.”

Officers can be denied qualified immunity if the Supreme Court or local federal appeals court finds another officer’s conduct under the same circumstances is illegal or unconstitutional, according to the Institute for Justice. The officer automatically qualifies for immunity if a case with the same circumstances does not exist. 

Harris and Blanding said they hope to see legislation reducing qualified immunity protections introduced again. This is the second time that Bourne’s qualified immunity measure failed. 

Harris said the “Democratic trifecta” means very little to her if Democrats don’t use their majority to pass progressive legislation that voters support. All 100 of Virginia’s House of Delegate seats are up for reelection in 2021. Harris said legislators unwilling to pass comprehensive police reform will face progressive challengers this June. 

“If they’re not passing meaningful legislation, then we have to really push what it means to be blue, and start to think further outside of the box,” Harris said. 

Written by Josephine Walker, Capital News Service. Top Image: “Prison Bars Jail Cell” by JobsForFelonsHub, CC BY 2.0.

Virginia House and Senate Advance Bills to Abolish Death Penalty

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Governor Northam has voiced his support for abolishing the death penalty in Virginia, and now both houses of the General Assembly have voted in favor of abolishing it as well.

After over 400 years of conducting more executions than any other state, Virginia may become the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. 

The Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates each passed identical bills this week to abolish the death penalty. Virginia would become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment if either bill advances in the other’s chamber and is signed by the governor.

Under current state law, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony who is at least 18 years of age at the time of the offense and without an intellectual disability faces a sentence of life imprisonment or death. 

The House and Senate bills eliminate death from the list of possible punishments for a Class 1 felony. The bills do not allow the possibility of parole, good conduct allowance, or earned sentence credits. Judges are able to suspend part of life sentences, with the exception of the murder of a law enforcement officer. 

Senate Bill 1165, introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, passed the Senate on a 21-17 vote. House Bill 2263, introduced by Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, passed the House Friday on a 57-41 vote. Three Republicans supported the House measure.

Any person previously sentenced to death by July 1 will have their sentence changed to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, good conduct allowance, or earned sentence credits. According to the House bill’s impact statement, there are two Virginia inmates on death row, but no execution date has been set for these inmates as of December. 

In a floor hearing earlier this week, Mullin discussed how the measure would ultimately save money, as the death penalty is a “huge financial burden on the commonwealth.” Virginia spends approximately $3.9 million annually to maintain four capital defender offices, which only handles capital cases, according to the House bill’s fiscal impact statement. The measure will likely eliminate the need for these offices. 

“If we keep the death penalty in place, we are prolonging an expensive, ineffective, and flawed system,” Mullin said. 

Del. Michael Mullin

Mullin said Virginia has a dark history of extreme racial bias and occasional false convictions within the judicial system. 

Referencing the 1985 case of Earl Washington, Mullin argued the commonwealth “knows the risks of killing an innocent person very well.” Washington, a wrongfully convicted death row inmate, came within nine days of his execution. 

“Perhaps the strongest argument for abolishing the death penalty is that a justice system without the death penalty allows us the possibility of being wrong,” Mullin said. 

In a debate during Friday’s House vote, defenders of the death penalty called attention to the victims of capital cases. Del. Jason S. Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, told his colleagues that “these victims are begging not to be forgotten.” He argued that executing those who commit the “ultimate crimes” is justice, not vengeance. 

“That’s what the death penalty is … it’s not revenge, it’s not eye for an eye, it’s our society, our civilization, holding someone accountable for their actions, allowing our juries to decide about the ultimate punishment,” Miyares said. 

Del. Mark H. Levine, D-Alexandria, a supporter of the bill, concluded the debate by speaking of his own painful experience. Speaking of his sister’s murder, Levine argued that the bill isn’t about him, his sister, or the victims, but about the state’s potential to kill innocent people. 

“I’ve seen evil, I’ve looked it in the face,” Levine said. “I know evil exists, there is no dispute about that. But taking an innocent person’s life — that’s evil, and it would be evil to be done by this General Assembly.” 

Gov. Ralph Northam said in a press release earlier this week that he looks forward to signing the bill into law. 

“The practice is fundamentally inequitable,” Northam said. “It is inhumane. It is ineffective. And we know that in some cases, people on death row have been found innocent.”

Written by Christina Amano Dolan, Capital News Service. Top Photo courtesy of the Virginia General Assembly website.

It’s Official: Conversion Therapy Is Now Illegal In Virginia

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Governor Northam signed a bill outlawing the practice on Monday, bringing years of struggle by LGBTQ advocates to a victorious end.

Virginia has officially become the 20th state to prohibit conversion therapy for minors, and the first in the American South. House Bill 386, introduced by 47th District Delegate Patrick Hope, passed both houses of the General Assembly with some bipartisan support, and this week it crossed Northam’s desk and made it into Virginia law.

“This issue is personal for me, as a pediatric neurologist who has cared for thousands of children,” Northam said in a statement released to accompany the signing of the bill. “Conversion therapy is not only based in discriminatory junk-science, it is dangerous and causes lasting harm to our youth. No one should be made to feel wrong for who they are — especially not a child. I’m proud to sign this ban into law.”

Advocates were equally positive about Virginia’s passing of the ban on conversion therapy.

“As a survivor of this dangerous and fraudulent practice, I can’t fathom just how many young LGBTQ lives may be saved with these critical protections from conversion therapy,” said Sam Brinton of the LGBTQ youth suicide prevention group the Trevor Project in a statement. “At The Trevor Project, we hear from LGBTQ youth in crisis every day and we know that those who are subjected to conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. This bold action will send a message to all LGBTQ young people in the great Commonwealth of Virginia that they are loved and deserve support.”

The new law prohibiting conversion therapy for minors will go into effect on July 1, but advocates have been working toward it for years now. Before Democrats gained control of both houses of the General Assembly earlier this year, bans against conversion therapy had repeatedly been proposed within both the Senate and House Of Delegates, but repeatedly failed to pass, and were often not even brought to a full floor vote in the House Of Delegates.

However, progress against this harmful practice did occur even before the General Assembly changed hands, as three different boards regulating mental health professionals in Virginia — the Board of Social Work, the Board of Psychology, and the Board of Counseling — all issued guidance prohibiting the practice in 2019. As well, multiple cities within the state, including Richmond and Virginia Beach, passed resolutions in 2019 asking the General Assembly for a ban on conversion therapy for minors.

Del. Hope’s bill was not the only conversion therapy bill introduced this year; in the state Senate, 36th district Senator Scott Surovell introduced a similar one, which also received significant support. The two bills were combined during reconciliation between the two houses of the General Assembly.

“Conversion therapy is a dangerous, destructive practice,” said Del. Hope in a statement. “We should be supporting and celebrating our LGTBQ youth, not putting them in harm’s way.”

Top Photo by Landon Shroder, RVA Mag file photo

Birth Certificate Modernization Bills Pass Both Houses of General Assembly

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Good news for Virginia’s trans and non-binary community — bills allowing non-binary gender markers on state IDs and changing of name and gender markers on birth certificates are headed to the governor’s desk.

Being transgender or non-binary in our less-than-accepting society can lead to a lot of difficulties, but two bills currently awaiting Governor Northam’s signature will make at least one aspect of trans and non-binary Virginians’ lives a little easier: getting legal identification that matches your gender identity and outward presentation.

The struggle to update Virginia’s gender marker change procedure is a fight that Virginia’s LGBTQ advocates and their allies in the state legislature have been having for years, to no avail. However, in this first General Assembly session to feature a Democratically-controlled GA, the difference has been like night and day. For one thing, the Virginia Values Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, and public accomodation on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, is on its way to the governor for his signature. For another, two less discussed but just as important bills making it easier for transgender and non-binary Virginians to obtain correct ID documents are headed for Gov. Northam’s desk.

The first is SB 246, a bill introduced by state Senator Scott Surovell which will allow Virginians to identify themselves as non-binary on driver’s licenses and identification cards. The bill specifically requires DMV to offer a third option, “non-binary,” along with “male” and “female” on the form designating an applicant’s sex as listed on DMV-issued identification. Virginia would then join 15 other states and DC in offering legal recognition to non-binary gender identities.

The second is SB 657, introduced by Delegate Jennifer Boysko, which allows trans people a much easier path to change the name and gender markers listed on their birth certificate. Boysko has been attempting to pass a similar bill for years; the bill she introduced in 2018 with a similar goal was passed by indefinitely by a House subcommittee. This year’s model would allow for a transgender person requesting a birth certificate with updated name and gender marker to submit a form completed by a health care provider stating that the person making the request had “undergone clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition.”

This would replace the current legal requirement for “a certified copy of a court order indicating that the sex of the person has been changed by medical procedure,” both allowing applicants to avoid the lengthy process of obtaining a court order, and, most importantly, eliminating the need for a “medical procedure,” generally understood to mean gender-reassignment surgery, in order to update their birth certificate.

Real ID driver’s license vs. non-Real ID driver’s license (Images via DMV)

This isn’t a minor change; while surgical procedures associated with gender transition are often part of the public discourse about transgender people, the fact is that for most, such surgeries are economically out of reach. Many health care plans do not offer coverage for them, and such surgeries are not available anywhere in Virginia, thereby requiring interstate travel and the ability to obtain longterm convalescence away from home.

And, as advocates have pointed out, many trans people do not feel the necessity to have surgical procedures done in order to live as their true gender.

“Not all trans people look to have medical surgery to identify as trans,” said Nationz Foundation founder Zakia McKensey in a 2018 interview with GayRVA. “Being trans can be legal, it can be medical, and it can be social — Legally changing your name, or socially having people identify you as your new name, or changing the way you dress… it shouldn’t be a requirement to have a surgical procedure to identify you as transgender.”

By easing the path toward a change of gender markers on birth certificates, SB 657 will by extension make some issues that have cropped up for transgender Virginians with the arrival of Real ID easier to navigate. It will enable trans Virginians who’ve had their gender markers updated through DMV (which does not require a certificate of medical procedure) to ensure that all of their legal documents match, and that no unwanted red tape will prevent them from being able to fly.

In the end, what these bills mainly demonstrate is that elections have consequences, and sometimes they are very good ones. Within two months of the new Democratic General Assembly being sworn in, many positive changes that LGBTQ Virginians have struggled to obtain for years have already come to pass. It’s hard not to be excited about that.

Top Photo: A rainbow flag was raised on Sept. 23, 2019, along with a trans flag and the Philly Pride Flag, for Richmond Pride. (Photo from City of Richmond Flickr account)

Hundreds of LGBTQ Advocates Lobby Lawmakers for Protections

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Equality Virginia and the Commonwealth’s LGBTQ community continue to lobby state legislators for important LGBTQ protections. Now that Democrats control the General Assembly, they’re having some success.

The day after hundreds lobbied lawmakers on behalf of LGBTQ rights during Equality Virginia’s Day of Action, two significant bills advanced in the General Assembly to further protections for the state’s LGBTQ residents. 

The House passed a bill from Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, on Wednesday to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, insurance, and banking. 

A Senate bill that adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability as reportable hate crimes, introduced by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, reported from committee. The bill would also guarantee that victims would be able to bring civil action to recover damages against their offender. 

Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, was “cautiously optimistic” at the start of the legislative session, but said Tuesday during the organization’s annual lobby event that there is much to celebrate.

Equality Virginia lobbied their lawmakers to support LGBTQ bills during their Day of Action. League of Women Voters members Lois Page and Lynn Johnston regularly attend the weekly roundtables. Photo: Vee Lamneck, Equality Virginia

Lamneck noted that most of the bills supported by Equality Virginia, a group that advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ community, are still alive and advancing. Last session, most of those bills failed to pass from Republican-led subcommittees.

“This legislation will ensure that people are not discriminated against in housing, employment, public spaces, and credit,” Lamneck said.

LGBTQ youth showed up to make their voices heard too. Side by Side, a group dedicated to creating supportive communities for LGBTQ youth, helped sponsor the event.

“We want them to see that it’s easy and accessible, and what it’s like to actually be involved in the legislative process,” said Emma Yackso, director of youth programs and services for Side by Side. “A lot of them for many, many reasons don’t feel like they belong in government, don’t feel like their voices are actually ever going to be listened to.”

Groups visited legislators to discuss LGBTQ-related causes such as conversion therapy, housing instability, religious liberty, protection from discrimination, and the vulnerability of African American transgender communities. 

“We know that people who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities often face the most discrimination, harassment, and, unfortunately, sometimes violence as well,” Lamneck said.

The lobbying event was followed by an afternoon of workshops at the Library of Virginia and a reception to thank lawmakers. 

Equality Virginia hosted their Day of Action at the Library of Virginia on Tuesday to promote LGBTQ bills and rights. Photo: Maia Stanley, Capital News Service

 Some of the legislation that has advanced in the General Assembly — mostly with bipartisan support — includes two bills introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. Senate Bill 657 would make it easier to change a person’s name and gender on a birth certificate. SB 161 would make the Department of Education create and implement policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public schools; a duplicate bill in the House also passed.

The Senate also passed SB 245, introduced by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, which would ban the practice of conversion therapy in Virginia on patients under age 18. A similar bill introduced by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, recently passed the House. On Tuesday, the House passed a health care bill introduced by Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or status as a transgender individual. 

Advocates also celebrated that two bills referred to as the Virginia Values Act have made it to the floors of their respective chambers: SB 868, introduced by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, and HB 1663, introduced by Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax. Both would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, credit transactions, employment and public spaces.

“We speak with many individuals from across the Commonwealth who have shared with us their experiences of discrimination,” Lamneck said. “And not just that, but the fact that they live in fear, day to day experiencing discrimination. And so the Virginia Values Act will have a profoundly positive impact on the community.”

Deanna Bayer (left), volunteer for the Day of Action, and Dorthy Kelley (right), an employee of Equality Virginia, greet participants for workshops and events. Photo: Maia Stanley, Capital News Service

Gov. Ralph Northam and Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, attended an evening reception to wrap up the Day of Action. 

“This session we are going to ensure it is no longer legal in Virginia to discriminate against someone because of who they love,” Filler-Corn tweeted. Two House bills that add gender, disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation as reportable hate crimes and a House bill replacing terms such as “husband and wife” with gender-neutral terms have yet to advance through their respective committees prior to crossover day on Feb. 11.

Written by Maia Stanley, Capital News Service. Top Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash.