By David Bomber

From the moment that Don Scott, Delegate for the 80th District of Virginia, introduced the Earned Sentence Credits bill in 2020, the atmosphere in this state changed. Suddenly, it seemed like criminal justice reform in Virginia was taking on real meaning, that change was finally coming about. In turn, this bill energized advocates and incarcerated folks alike, as well as their families, and further gave everyone involved a glimmer of hope. What fueled that fire even more was during that same year John Edwards, Senator for the 21st District of Virginia, introduced a bill to reinstate parole – an extraordinary measure considering that parole had been abolished in Virginia since July 1st, 1995. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the lawmakers here in Virginia were finally getting it. Perhaps all the hard work that everyone had put in towards criminal justice reform was finally paying off.

Although the Earned Sentence Credits bill eventually passed, it turned out to only benefit some, while it dashed the hopes for many others. Initially the bill was introduced to provide incentives to gain an earlier release for any given prisoner who demonstrated good behavior and worked towards rehabilitating themselves. Unfortunately, that same bill was amended later on to exclude violations of certain offenses, such as malicious wounding, homicide, robbery, etc. This means that those affected by these exclusions can only earn the same rate of “good time” as they always have, a maximum of 4.5 sentence credits for each 30 days served (for those under the “new law”). The other crushing blow came that affected all the new law incarcerated folks as well as their families is when Edward’s bill to reinstate parole was first “tabled,” then eventually defeated. Perhaps lawmakers here in Virginia aren’t getting it after all – keeping folks locked up isn’t the answer. If anything it exacerbates the issue of mass incarceration.

What followed suit after that can only be characterized as mind boggling. In Governor Youngkin’s 2022 budget amendment, a provision was adopted that precluded anyone with “mixed charges” to benefit from the Earned Sentence Credits statue. In other words someone with convictions for something like grand larceny & malicious wounding doesn’t qualify for Earned Sentence Credits based solely on the malicious wounding. To put it fairly, this amounts than nothing more than a Draconian policy instituted by the Younkin administration. It is no wonder that the ACLU of Virginia has filed two separate lawsuits over these matters – one of which was recently won because the Earned Sentence Credits statue was misinterpreted and ultimately misapplied by the Virginia D.O.C. The other, which hasn’t been decided yet, addresses Youngkin’s policy on the ineligibility aspect of those with “mixed charges.”

If anyone isn’t surprised by these things, it is I. Convicted in 2011 of aggravated malicious wounding & second-degree murder, both the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Virginia’s determined that they could “not ascertain the legislative intent” and ultimately upheld my convictions – never mind that only ONE ACT was involved against the SAME VICTIM. From my perspective, it seems that Virginia has a track record of failing to interpret the statues properly, and further gives me the sense that I am being punished twice, unfairly I might add.

Similarly, the exclusions set forth in the Earned Sentence Credits & the 2022 Budget Amendment gives many incarcerated folks and their families a bleak outlook, particularly on criminal justice reform. As stressful and daunting as these matters are, now is not the time to roll over and pretend that these issues will go away on their own. The best thing that advocates, incarcerated folks, and their families can do to cope with these issues and bring about change is to take them on and get directly involved with Virginia’s lawmakers.

Thank you for taking time to read this. If you would like to get in contact with me directly, my contact info is enclosed below.

CONTACT INFO

To email me directly please visit http://www.jpay.com and submit Virginia ID #1130793 (Jpay is a service that the Virginia D.O.C. utilizes for prisoner communications with the public)(Note: this service does require users to purchase virtual stamps in order to send messages).

To follow my cause on Facebook:
@Justice4davidbomber

To join the conversation:
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For General Correspondence:
David Bomber #1130793
Nottoway Correctional Center
P.O. Box 488
Burkeville, Va. 23922