Sample Letter To Virginia Legislators About Granting Geriatric and Regular Parole To Deserving Prisoners

Its mission is to "grant parole to those whose
release is compatible with public safety."

If you believe parole release should be granted to Virginia prisoners who have worked hard for years to earn it, I suggest you write your own letter or email to your legislators, but here's a sample letter by the Virginia chapter of Ignite Justice:

Dear Senator,

   This letter is in regards to the confirmation of the current parole board. Governor Youngkin vowed to slow parole rates for violent criminals which makes up nearly all of the parole docket. Looking at the current parole board’s body of work, it's clear they're committed to Youngkin's mission. In 2021 163 people were released on parole in Virginia compared to only 53 under this "interim" parole board in 2022. The coalition of prison justice reformers are arguing that prisoners who've waited 2 decades for justice from unfair trials are now being subjected to an unfair parole process.  

First, there's the question of what legal and ethical authority these nominees have, who've yet to be confirmed to grant or deny anyone parole. The law requires parole membership to come from 2 separate processes involving 2 separate branches of government. This so-called "interim" parole board has functioned as members for nearly a year without legislative confirmation and the coalition says that's unfair at best and unlawful at worst. 

Second, the coalition asserts that the parole board is biased because they were chosen specifically to reduce parole rates. 

Third, the coalition asserts that there's a structurally racist component to the make-up of the parole board. The last parole board was 80% African American and Youngkin replaced them with a parole board that's 80% white. The coalition argues that nearly 70% of the people going up for parole are African American and from areas in Virginia many of these people have never been. 

Lastly, the coalition asserts that the interim parole board is made of people who aren't from Virginia. Of the four interim members only Samuel Boone Jr is from Virginia. None of the others who are impacting the fate of citizens of this Commonwealth are from Virginia. 

For these reasons the coalition wants their confirmation hearings to be public and the following questions asked to the interim parole board members: 

1.  Why has the parole rate dropped so drastically under the interim PB from that of the previous PB?  

2.  Why are so many inmates being given more reasons for their parole denials by this interim PB than they were given under the previous PB? 

3.  Would you be okay with establishing objective standards for inmates to make parole? 

4.  How important is a PB members subjective opinion in deciding whether to grant parole? 

5.  Do you believe FISHBACK parole and Juvenile parole inmates who became eligible in 2020 should be reviewed differently considering their paroles are remedies for violations of their rights? 

6.  Are their criminal acts that have been committed that are so violent or gruesome in your mind there's no way you'd vote for the offender of the act to be paroled? 

7.  What biases do you consciously bring to the job and how do you mitigate those biases? 

8.  What are you looking for when reviewing someone's parole request? 

9.  Chairman Dotson has stated at several meetings that the PB is going to try and get a check list of requirements for inmates to make parole, what would be 3 requirements you'd present? 

10. Do you believe there should be more members on the PB? explain. 

 11. Would you like personally to meet the inmates requesting parole or do you prefer the  current system using interviewers not on the PB? explain.

We the people ask that these questions be asked of the parole board nominees during the confirmation hearing. We also ask that based on the previous results from last year that you vote to NOT confirm these nominees. 

Respectfully, a concerned Virginia Citizen

A Christmas Visit With A Long Lost Foster Sister

Alma Jean is recovering from a bad case of flu, but Joanie
and I enjoyed our little annual Christmas gift exchange today.

I was six years old when my parents began providing temporary foster care for children from the Augusta County Social Services Department. Over the next several years more than a dozen foster kids were in and out of our busy farm house, home to my parents and their five daughters and three sons (I being the youngest).

The first of these, Mary Beth, was only four weeks old when she joined us, and our family eventually adopted her to take my place as "the baby in the family." 

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2016/01/in-memory-of-my-sister-mary-beth.html

Our second was a special needs child with cerebral palsy, Janet Hanshaw, who had been abandoned by her mother and had no connections with any of her family or relatives. She was 18 months old when she arrived, unable to walk and having difficulty with verbal communication. She was with us for a full year and half until Social Services moved her to the Central Virginia Training School near Lynchburg. 

I remember visiting with Janet there some years later, feeling badly about conditions in her new home and about the kind of care she and others were receiving in that crowded facility.

Fast forwarding to over three decades later, I was invited to speak at a vesper service one evening at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, where they just happened to have a number of guests present from nearby Harrison House, a part of a new Pleasant View Homes for the Handicapped location just north of VMRC. 

After the service I chatted with the Harrison House staff and guests, one of whom was introduced as Joanie Hanshaw, a friendly, smiling resident in a wheelchair. The name immediately rang a bell. Could this possibly be the cheerful little foster kid who wheeled around our house in a walker many years before?

The name was slightly different, but I learned she was indeed a former resident at the Lynchburg based Training School, and that she was making amazing progress at Harrison House, learning to take care of herself and to take on many tasks no one had formerly thought she was capable of. The next day I was able to confirm she was indeed one of my more memorable former foster siblings.

Ever since Joanie has insisted on calling me her "brother," and Alma Jean and I have had her for multiple birthday and Christmas celebrations with our family since that time, and I have continued to stay in touch.

Joanie is now 77 and has gone through numerous health crises and hospitalizations in recent years. But she has now been in a nearby Moyer Apartment assisted living unit of Pleasant View for several decades, and is always delighted to welcome us and others as her guests. 

She has truly been a blessing to us and to everyone whose lives she has touched.

What I Found Disturbing In Zelensky's Address

Ukrainian President Zelensky addressing the US Congress.

Much as I grieve the unimaginable suffering of the Ukrainian people and admire their courage in the face of a cruel invasion, I couldn't help but have mixed feelings about President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to Congress last night.

I'm certainly no expert in matters of national policies but speak only as a concerned world citizen and as an imperfect follower of the Prince of Peace.

Here are some parts of the address last night I found disturbing:

1. We have to utterly defeat the Kremlin on the battlefield.

Where will an ongoing, all out effort  to return evil for evil, an "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" take us, short of everyone being finally being rendered blind and toothless? Can't we even consider other ways of ending conflicts than having our enemies completely destroyed and defeated? 

There was no mention of any efforts at calling for at least a temporary truce while bringing opposing parties to the peace table to negotiate an enduring peace. True, this is not a conflict between equals, but what will adding ever more destructive missiles and other weapons of massive destruction accomplish other than causing ever more destruction and suffering? Assuming a nuclear superpower like Russia can simply be backed into a corner with no option but abject surrender seems less likely than having the war expand into a worldwide holocaust.

2. Our fight for independence is like yours in 1776.

It could be argued, of course, that Ukraine's war is far more justified than the colonists' revolt against the English crown. King George certainly wasn't the tyrant Putin has proven to be, and was not illegally invading the colonies. By Zelensky's logic, it would be native Americans who should have fought off European invaders until they were forced to surrender and withdraw. Would that have been the only just outcome?

3. Like Churchill we are asking for your help in saving the world from tyranny.

It was numerous media commentators, not Zelensky himself, who made the point that he was the first head of state since Winston Churchill to address the US Congress while their nation was at war. I found this comparison chilling, as the Second World War II turned into the most brutal, barbaric and catastrophic worldwide disaster ever. Do we really believe the use of megatons of bombs and finally nuclear weapons was the only way the world could be saved? The lives of 50-80 million people were lost in this awful war.

Citizens of one of the most Christianized nations in the world, Germany, could and should have prevented Hitler from coming to power by refusing to believe his lies and by not supporting any of his evil schemes. That kind of vigilant resistance to evil and replacing evil with good is the only lasting way to a peaceful and just world, not by using evil means in an attempt to achieve good ends.

Could we all join in a standing ovation to that kind of proposal?  

Blessed By A Gracious Voice From The Past

In his retirement Whitelow became known as the man who
greeted school buses and passing motorists every morning on
Bridgewater’s Main Street.

Carlyle Whitelow, a lifelong resident of Bridgewater, Va., died just over a year ago at age 89. He and his brother Alfred were the first black students to graduate from Bridgewater College, and Carlyle was the first black athlete in the South to compete in a predominantly white college. He later became a beloved professor and distinguished coach at his alma mater for 28 years.

I never got to personally know Mr. Whitelow but in going through some old papers during our move a year ago I ran across a letter he wrote to me in 2013 as a total stranger. It is one I will always cherish, especially since learning more about this good man in the years since then. 

In his handwritten post he graciously commended me for a letter to the editor I had written in response to a July 30, 2013, edition of the Daily News-Record commemorating the life and legacy of the late Harry F. Byrd, Jr., under the heading DN-R's Coverage Of Byrd Incomplete:

Here is Professor Whitelow's kind response, mistakenly addressing me as "Dr. Yoder":

My prayer is that we all become encouragers like this godly and good hearted man. 

Note: For the record, this is the text of the letter I had written to the DN-R and to which he he took the time to respond:

Editor, Daily News-Record: 

I appreciated your extensive coverage of the many accomplishments of the late Harry F. Byrd Jr. However, it included only the following brief mention of his role in opposing desegregation and civil rights legislation: "Throughout the agonizing times of the 1950's, Harry Jr. said little but stood firmly with his father in Massive Resistance, a policy of opposing school desegregation." 

A newspaper, including this one owned by the Byrd family, is free to publish whatever it chooses. But it also has the responsibility to give us the full story on an issue of this historic importance.

Our Ghastly Top Ten US "Merchants of Death"

 

For every dollar China spends on arms, the US spends $2.77, much of it borrowed money.

Any so-called "Christian" nation should be known for promoting peace and goodwill on earth instead of arming itself with the deadliest stockpile of weapons imaginable. Our Pentagon budget, a record $742.3 billion this year, is so out of control that it has been incapable of a credible audit for the fifth year in a row, and actually includes $58 billion more than the Defense Department even requested.

Were we to join other nations in investing that kind of money in development and food aid, we could eliminate world hunger and help bring about a far safer, healthier and more sustainable world. 
     

Here are top ten US corporations profiting from this grievous misappropriation of resources:

General Dynamics Corp
 L3 Harris Corporation
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Oshkosh Corp
Raytheon Technologies Corporation
Collins Aerospace
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Northrop Grumman Corporation
BAE Systems
Boeing Company

Read the following for more details: https://blog.executivebiz.com/articles/the-top-10-defense-contractors-in-2022/

Kyrie Eleison.

Lord, have mercy.

Coughing, Hiccoughs And Some Stray Earbuds

Hearing aid earbud: the replaceable white
piece shown above.

Not having gotten much relief after a recent medical visit for incessant coughing and hiccups, my good wife persuaded me to go to MedExpress Thursday. They were really backed up with patients, so we went to Valley Urgent Care instead. After a 45 minute wait I had an EKG and a thorough checkup, and was told I had significant wax buildup in my ears, so I agreed to have them remove it, hoping it would help my hearing if nothing else.

Turns out they not only got rid of the wax but found two stray earbuds from my hearing aids in my right ear. Not one, but two! So yes, I can now hear better, even though I've experienced only gradual improvement otherwise. 

Apparently incessant hiccups are sometimes, though rarely, associated with a life threatening condition known as pulmonary embolism (PE)  that may present as dyspnea, chest pain, cough or hemoptysis. Hence the EKG, which fortunately ruled out any heart problem.

The good news is that had I not gone for help, or had been seen by MedExpress, I may still be wondering why I have such poor hearing in my right ear (Side note: This is also a reason married men live longer, in that they are more likely to be persuaded to get medical help when they need it).

Meanwhile, I did wonder, after reading the following in a Mayo Clinic piece I found online, if there might be any connection between my having these foreign objects in my ear and my hiccups:

"A cause of long-term hiccups is damage to or irritation of the vagus nerves or phrenic nerves, which serve the diaphragm muscle. Factors that may cause damage or irritation to these nerves include: 

• A hair or something else in your ear touching your eardrum

• A tumor, cyst or goiter in your neck

• Gastroesophageal reflux

• Sore throat or laryngitis"

Having said that, the earbuds probably weren't touching my eardrum in any case, and the hiccups haven't altogether disappeared since their removal, but God does sometimes seem to work in mysterious and hilarious ways.

A suggested note for future medical journals: "When seeing patients with coughing or hiccups, be sure to check for any foreign objects in their ears." 

Should We Celebrate A Thriving US Economy?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been one way of measuring the strength of our nation's economy. 

Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen. Ezekiel 16:49-50 (NLT)

Contrary to widespread fears, the U.S. economy, by most accounts, appears to be doing better than expected. First the good news:

• The rate of inflation is slowing.

• A greater than expected 263,000 new jobs were created in November, and job growth is exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

• The jobless rate is 3.7%, a historic low level.

• Gas prices are continuing to drop, in spite of predictions they would rise as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

• The stock market appears to be relatively stable.

I'm not an economist, but should we be celebrating an economy that at least doesn't appear to be going over a cliff anytime soon? And hope that our 401k's may be able to ensure a comfortable retirement?

Or should we, given the warnings of Jesus and the prophets, be looking at a sobering other side of the picture?

For example, dare we celebrate the success of any economy that has resulted from land and resources having been brutally stolen from native peoples who lived here for millennia before our arrival? Or one which has prospered at the expense of hundreds of thousands of cruelly mistreated African slaves and multitudes of impoverished and abused immigrant workers? Or one in which large profits are still being made through the exploitation of vast amounts of natural resources and cheap labor around the world?

To the extent that any economy fails to deliver good news for the poor and release for the oppressed, a compassionate God--and the verdict of history--will not offer an unqualified blessing.

Nor should we.