Virginia Democrats continue push for criminal justice reform as General Assembly convenes

As the General Assembly reconvenes this week, Virginia Democrats are continuing a push to reform the state’s criminal justice system that began last year amid widespread social unrest.

The effort during a special legislative session culminated in November with the passage of a slate of laws that empowered civilian oversight of police, banned no-knock search warrants and reformed a 224-year-old criminal sentencing statute.

Advocates and lawmakers say that was just the start of the conversation.

“They basically got us out of the ice age of criminal justice and into the Stone Age,” said Brad Haywood, a public defender and leader with Justice Forward, the group behind criminal sentencing reforms adopted last year. “But we’re still in the Stone Age, so that means we have a long way to go,” he told a panel earlier this week.

Read more: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/01/13/virginia-democrats-continue-push-for-criminal-justice-reform-as-general-assembly-convenes/