Juvenile offenders; eligibility for parole. (SB1391)
Introduced By
Sen. Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
☐ |
Passed Committee |
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Passed House |
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Passed Senate |
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Signed by Governor |
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Became Law |
Description
Juvenile offenders; parole. Provides that any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 25 years of such sentence, and any person who has active sentences that total more than 25 years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was a juvenile and who has served at least 25 years of such sentences, shall be eligible for parole. Read the Bill »
Status
01/28/2019: Incorporated into Another Bill
History
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 01/08/2019 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/09/19 19102091D |
| 01/08/2019 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| 01/24/2019 | Impact statement from DPB (SB1391) |
| 01/28/2019 | Incorporated by Courts of Justice (SB1053-Marsden) (14-Y 0-N) (see vote tally) |
Comments
This should be a no-brainer. A felon who served 25 years for a crime committed as a juvenile should certainly be eligible for parole. It makes sense from a fiscal as well as a justice/ethics perspective. Let's start addressing and combating crime in a smarter way rather than chronically conflating heavy-handed solutions with effective ones.
ANYBODY who has served 25 years in prison already should be eligible for parole, for the same reasons Barbie just stated. Even people who make stupid decisions in their 20s (the brain isn't even fully developed until around age 25) should have a chance at a life again after a quarter of a century behind bars. Because it's never just them doing time—family members and loved ones are doing time right along with them. More prison isn't the answer. There needs to be a PLAN for every prisoner upon entering prison to rehabilitate them, treat them if they're mentally ill or need help with substance abuse, or whatever. You can't just throw people away, torture them, hide the abuses, and expect society to be better. The system has to change.