More from The Appeal:
Repealing state and federal mandatory minimums will help address the mass incarceration crisis, advocates hope.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 15, 2021
Jennifer Carroll Foy is a former public defender and state legislator who wants to overhaul school funding and extend an eviction moratorium until the end of 2022.
Eoin Higgins Feb 24, 2021
Proposed legislation would allow people accused of crimes to tell juries if they had a mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, or an intellectual or developmental disability at the time of a crime. The bill could have helped individuals like Matthew Rushin.
Virginia’s Department of Corrections has recently settled two lawsuits over its use of solitary confinement—a practice lawmakers are moving closer to abolishing.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 05, 2021
Virginia may soon become the 23rd state to abolish capital punishment.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 29, 2021
McAuliffe is running to become Virginia governor a second time. If he wins, he would be the only active Democratic governor to have carried out executions in office.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 11, 2020
Today’s update focuses on major outbreaks in two state prisons in tiny Buckingham County, Virginia that in June gave it one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S.
Whet Moser Jul 15, 2020
Despite distancing warnings, more than 80 state and federal agents fanned out in an anti-drug operation that, The Appeal has learned, was based on a series of retail-level drug sales.
Jerry Iannelli Apr 16, 2020
Public defenders in Fairfax County say their clients are being sent into harm’s way.
Kira Lerner Apr 02, 2020
A claimed victory in Kentucky and wins in Virginia mean hundreds of thousands of people could have their right to vote restored.
With Appeal contributors Julia Rock and Harry August
Adam H. Johnson Oct 31, 2019
Sheriff Mike Chapman, who runs the Loudoun County jail, has received close to $15,000 in contributions from the provider since taking office in 2012.
Aaron Morrison Oct 17, 2019
The state is one of eight that allow cops to arraign people on misdemeanor charges. Advocates and academics say the practice is unjust.
Critics say that Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos, who is being challenged in a June primary, has a pattern of treating children too harshly.
Kira Lerner Jun 04, 2019
At Virginia’s Hampton Roads Regional Jail, reform has been slow even after high-profile tragedies including the death of mentally disabled man incarcerated who allegedly stole $5 worth of snacks.
Aaron Morrison Apr 16, 2019
Muslim prisoners, meanwhile, say they were starved during Ramadan and deprived of religious texts.
Kira Lerner Dec 06, 2018
Before Edgar Coker was exonerated in a rape case, he underwent therapy meant to prevent sexual reoffenses. Thousands of kids involved in sexual offenses are forced into therapies like “relapse prevention” that experts say are ineffective.
Joseph Darius Jaafari Aug 27, 2018
After being released from prison, her only chance is a pardon from the governor.
Jessica Pishko Aug 14, 2018
In jurisdictions across the country, people incarcerated before they've ever been convicted of a crime are charged a daily fee just for sitting in jail—and several courts have ruled that the practice is legal.
Steven Hale Jul 20, 2018