Virginia’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares, has expressed apprehension regarding recent changes to sentencing reductions in the commonwealth. The expiration of a provision inserted into the previous biennial budget by the Youngkin administration has now made over 7,000 “violent offenders” eligible for reduced sentences. Effective July 1, individuals incarcerated for both violent and nonviolent crimes became eligible for enhanced earned sentence credits for nonviolent offenses. This means they can earn up to 15 days off their sentence for every 30 days of good behavior, while sentences for violent crimes can only be reduced by a maximum of 4.5 days for similar conduct.
Governor Glenn Youngkin had attempted to maintain the provision that prevented individuals who committed mixed crimes from serving shorter sentences for their nonviolent offenses committed “in the same act or transaction.” However, with the expiration of the budget amendment, more than 7,600 offenders now qualify for sentence reductions, with approximately 99% of them being violent offenders, according to the attorney general’s office. The 2020 law, which introduced enhanced earned sentence credits, applies retroactively back to 1995, resulting in the release of hundreds of incarcerated individuals on the day the governor’s provision expired.
On July 1, 2024, 445 inmates became immediately eligible for release, including individuals convicted of first-degree murder, rape or sexual assault, abduction, and robbery, as stated in a press release from Miyares’ office. Miyares considers the expiration of the governor’s budget amendment a “critical public safety issue.” He argues that expanding earned sentence credits to inmates convicted of both violent and nonviolent offenses committed in the same act or transaction is likely to benefit repeat, violent offenders. Miyares emphasizes that Virginians should not have to wait for a tragedy to prompt their elected officials to prioritize their safety, cautioning that good intentions do not necessarily lead to good results.
