This is great news. I am not sure it stands the slightest chance of passing the House, but the conversation about corrections reform (from restoring civil liberties, to making sure convicts have options to actually return to society after they've done their time, to death penalty reform) needs to start sooner rather than later, and this is a great place to start.

Lowell, you are to be commended for posting this.  You are truely a brave man to venture into this minefield.  But since we are on the topic of Un-Equal Justice in the Commonwealth, we must recognize that The Virginia Organizing Project (VOP) has been supporting efforts to that end for a while.  http://virginia-organizing.org  One of VOP's three statewide campaigns has been on Racial Profiling, which ties into Restoration of Voting Rights to nonviolent ex-felons at the end of this long road of un-equal justice in Virginia.  

Traffic stops are the primary starting point for this cycle.  After countless face-to-face meetings and one-to-one conversations with people of color, the one thing that was coming up in these discussions was Racial Profiling.  So VOP began asking the General Assembly to pass Data Collection legislation that would require all law enforcement agencies and departments in Virginia to collect data on every traffic stop regardless if a ticket is issued.  It would cover the standard demographic information (race, gender, age,) and would also track why they were stopped, where they were stopped, and the result of the stop (ticket or warning).  The data would be compiled and sent to an institution of higher education that was able to do the study and analysis and publish a yearly report on the results.  The bill was always sent to the House of Delegates Militia Police and Public Safety Committee.  With the recent legislatures, this went over like a lead ballon.

Last year, Senator Stolle agreed to submit a budget amendment to fund a dedicated position in the Department of Criminal Justice Services for Biased Policing/Racial Profiling Training Coordinator (for training to avoid these practices).  This particular position was being covered by one DCJS staff person who is also responsible for about three or four other jobs.  Well, this was written out of the budget.  

Now, lets get into the courts and how the system really works.  In short, if you have money and can afford a good lawyer, then your chances of getting out of there increase dramatically.  If your family has a good relationship with the judge or someone in the legal profession who has a good relationship with the judge, then again your chance improve dramatically.  So, if you are poor (and poor and a person of color) then you are really in a bind and much closer to the door that doesn't lead to fresh air and an un-escorted trip to Wal-Mart.  The most recent example of this are the mandatory minimums and how the law is applied to Crack vs. Powder Cocaine.  The later is much more expensive to purchase (at least what I've learned from the news and Law and Order staring Fred Thompson and not from any practical experience, thank goodness), but the mandatory minimum sentence is much lighter than for Crack.  Now, don't get me wrong.  We are all responsible for the choices we make and if you committed a crime, you should be punished accordingly.  

So, what does this all add up to?  Do mandatory minimums and the Death Penalty really deter people from commiting crimes?  Just look at the growing jail and prison populations.  NO, they don't.  To be fair, during Governor Mark Warner's term he did shortent the applicaiton processs to restore nonviolent ex-felons voting rights, to three pages.  It didn't go far enough, but at least Governor Warner gave it some attention.  It really needs to be automoatic but at a minimum it should shortend to one page.  

If justice is truely blind, why is it that Virginia still tends to identify people of color, specifically Black Males, with crime?  The long road to changing behaviors that associate the color of a person's skin with criminal activity is an incremental journey.  Senator Miller, you are a true champion of social justice.  It makes a big difference when you are in the majority.  Let's keep on chippin' away.  

My cousin's daughter-in-law just had her voting rights restored (drug issue). She is happy and voted ( DEM) for the first time in years this November. Is it rdiculously impossible to receive a full pardon? Who does she contact for that?

This issue is one about which she cares passionately.  The obstacle is, and always has been, the House Privileges and Elections Committee.  The wonderful Bob Marshall controls the subcommittee on constitutional amendments and has always been able to quash this.