1. Parole was abolished in Virginia for all inmates entering
the system after January 1, 1995.
(Associated Press/Virginian Pilot, 1/3/05)
2. Today there remain roughly 7, 000 inmates in Virginia who were
sentenced before parole abolition;
these inmates are commonly called "old-law"
prisoners.
(Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/13/04)
3. Almost all of those 7,000 inmates were convicted of violent crimes.
(Roanoke Times, 11/26/04)
4. The parole grant rate for violent "old-law" offenders is 2%.
(Virginian Pilot, 4/5/04)
5. Because parole abolition took effect in 1995, none of these "old-law"
inmates has served less than 11
years, most have served over 20. Thus the youngest
of these prisoner's are in their 30s, and the great
majority are in their 40s and older.
6. Virginia's Attorney General, Robert F. McDonnell (R), said, "Most
serious crimes are committed by
people between the ages of 18 and 32."
(Associated Press/Virginian Pilot, 1/3/05)
7. As the chart below shows, the safest prisoners to parole are in
fact those who were sentenced to life.
| |
Overall Recidivision Rate
|
Violent Recidivision Rate
|
| Lifers |
20.6%
|
3.7%
|
| Property Offenders |
73.8%
|
16.2%
|
| Drug Offenders |
66.7%
|
12.3%
|
(P. Langan and D. Levin, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002)
8. Dr. Richard Kern, Director of the Virginia Sentencing Commission,
said that "felons in their twenties
[are] more likely to commit another crime than
those twice their age."
(Washington Post, 4/23/05)
9. Older inmates can cost up to three times as much to house in prison
than younger ones, due to higher
medical expenses---$69,000 per year vs $22,000
per year.
(USA Today, 8/10/03)
DON'T LET YOUR TAXES BE WASTED TO INCARCERATE PEOPLE WHO ARE NO LONGER
A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY!
Call your Senator and Delegate in the General Assembly to demand
a change in the policy of the Virginia
Parole Board.
A
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