According to the Virginia Parole Board website, only two regular grants were approved in December, neither of them geriatric cases. The Parole Board allows some parole violators to be continued on parole or discharged each month, but granted actual release to only 137 old law prisoners and 21 geriatric prisoners in 2019. This leaves 1,854 offenders in the system who remain parole eligible, and means the percentage of first term parole releases is under 8% for the year 2019.
Virginia boasts of having one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country, less than 22%, which should mean that the risk of released persons reoffending is lower than in most states. This is especially true for aging persons and for old law prisoners who have demonstrated good behavior within the DOC for the 25 plus years they have been incarcerated since parole was abolished in 1995.
Healthcare Costs Are Rising With Aging Prison Population
A November 30, 2019, Richmond Times-Dispatch article by reporter Richard Green, notes that medical care for Virginia's 30,000 inmates now accounts for one-fifth of all operating expenses for state prisons. According to figures provided by the staff of the Virginia House Appropriations Committee, the cost of inmate health care grew from roughly $140 million annually to more than $230 million in the decade ending June 30 of last year.
Fourteen percent of state prisoners are at least 55 years old, up from 8.5% in 2012, the report found. A report last year by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission reported the number of inmates age 50 or older increased by nearly 40% from 2010 to 2016, and there was no indication that the growth rate was slowing.
From another source: Thirty-one percent of Deerfield Correctional Center's prisoners are 60 years old or older. Due to increased medical needs, the cost for their keep is at $44,891 per inmate each year compared with $31,610 for the rest of the prison system.
Note from someone in the system: “Even with the $230 million spent for treatment annually, prisoners are still not receiving adequate healthcare. It takes over a year for an inmate to receive a pair of prescription glasses or a set of dentures. This is not adequate healthcare”
Secretary Brian Moran To Speak At Gemeinschaft Home’s 35th Anniversary Event
Brian Moran, Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety, will be the honored guest and keynote speaker at a major anniversary and fundraising event sponsored by Gemeinschaft Home of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Friday evening June 19.
Gemeinschaft is a 90-day residential therapeutic community that houses from 40-50 men who are transitioning from prison and preparing to be productive citizens in their community.
Moran is a logical choice for giving the keynote address here, based on his job description, described in Virginia code § 2.2-221.1. as follows:
The Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security shall establish an integrated system for coordinating the planning and provision of offender transitional and reentry services among and between state, local, and nonprofit agencies in order to prepare inmates for successful transition into their communities upon release from incarceration and for improving opportunities for treatment, employment, and housing while on subsequent probation, parole, or post-release supervision.
DOC Sued Over Its Unhealthy Food Budget
Reporter Ned Oliver, in a piece in the January 22, 2020, Virginia Mercury. describes a briefing by the Virginia Department of Corrections in which Sen. Adam Ebbin, Democrat from Alexandria, asked what the department spent feeding the men and women under its care. The answer was $2.10 per day.
One Virginia inmate has sued the Department, alleging a diet high in processed meats and grains put him at high risk for obesity, cancer and other chronic conditions. The DOC continues to insist that its that their food is adequate and healthy, according to radio station WVTF, which covered the suit.
Good News About People Behind Bars Doing Good
In an effort to show that prisoners want to make a positive difference, the Pre-Reentry, Veterans, and S.O.A.R. communities of Augusta Correctional Center have been organizing charity drives for non-profits. In January they sent $200 to "Big Brothers and Big Sisters" of Richmond for National Mentor Month.
For Victim Impact Week in April, they have organized a drive to donate to the "Virginia Victims Assistance Network." They have also created their own "Victim Impact Tree" where residents place the names of victims on leaves and then paste them on the tree in their honor. These men understand that they can never take back what they've done, but can find some peace in helping others and becoming instruments of positive change.
This is all a part of ACC's "Investing in Community Action Networking" (I.C.A.N.) which is one of the workshops that is offered in the Re-entry Community. Their message to residents is that "we must become the change that we seek," believing that when they do this they help bring about social transformation. They want those on the outside to know that they are not just about talk, but are about actions that speak much louder than words.
On The Outside
An excerpt from Veer Magazine, August 20, 2019: "The unfortunate reality of probation for many is an extremely difficult set of rules and regulations that often result in violations or more commonly technical violations. A technical violation of probation is any action considered as misbehavior by a person under supervision that is not by itself a criminal offense and generally does not result in arrest. Failing to report for a scheduled office visit, missing a curfew, lack of employment or attendance at school, testing positive for drug or alcohol use, or contacting a victim or co-defendant are examples of actions that can be considered violations. The fact is that persons on probation and parole in Virginia are more likely to be incarcerated due to technical violations than for committing a new crime thus continuing a system of criminalization as opposed to reform."
What The People Want
ACLU of Virginia released results from a survey of registered voters taken late last year. Three quarters said they favored criminal justice reform. 62% said too many people were going to prison, costing taxpayers too much money, and 75% said it was time to reinstate parole for non-violent offenders.
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