Subject Line: Please Vote YES on HB247 Dear Members of the House Appropriations General Government and Capital Outlay Subcommittee, Please VOTE YES on HB247. This will allow a Judge to consider diversion for a defendant with intellectual or developmental disabilities before sentencing. If diversion is the outcome, then months of court appearances serve no purpose and often worsen mental health. For autistic individuals, repeated court dates can trigger severe anxiety, trauma, and crisis. When people receive support instead of punishment, they succeed—and the Commonwealth avoids the far higher costs of incarceration, emergency services, and repeated court involvement. There is no fiscal impact of this bill, according to the Fiscal Impact Statement. Please Vote YES on HB247. Sincerely, Piumini Wanigasundera.

Please vote YES on HB247. This bill allows the court to consider diversion for a defendant with an intellectual or developmental disability – before sentencing. This bill may help that disabled person avoid the lifelong damage of a criminal record. And according to the Fiscal Impact Statement, this bill has no fiscal impact. Please vote YES on HB247.

Dear Members of the House Appropriations General Government and Capital Outlay Subcommittee, Please VOTE YES on HB247. This will allow a Judge to consider diversion for a defendant with intellectual or developmental disabilities before sentencing. If diversion is the outcome, then months of court appearances serve no purpose and often worsen mental health. For autistic individuals, repeated court dates can trigger severe anxiety, trauma, and crisis. When people receive support instead of punishment, they succeed—and the Commonwealth avoids the far higher costs of incarceration, emergency services, and repeated court involvement. There is no fiscal impact of this bill, according to the Fiscal Impact Statement. Please Vote YES on HB247. Sincerely

I am a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School in 1966 and have been a lawyer for almost 60 years and a law professor emeritus from the University of Detroit Mercy. I have written extensively on the subject of autism and the criminal justice system including: Caught in the Web of the Criminal Justice System: Autism, Developmental Disabilities, and Sex Offenses (2017) with co editor and contributor Emily Horowitz; Autism Spectrum Disorder in the criminal Justice System: A Guide to Understanding Suspects, Defendants and Offenders with Autism with Clare Allely (2022) along with a number of published book chapters. The mitigation of the assault statute and deferred disposition for autism and expungement are completely consistent with all of the information provided in my books and articles and I completely support their ultimate passage into law. It is the humane way to provide justice for people on the autism spectrum whose neurological wiring from birth makes these laws necessary.

Both HB 246 and HB 247 are so very important to ensure that our criminal justice system is fair and just. It is no secret that for far too many years behaviors that are a manifestation of a developmental disability have resulted in arrests, misdemeanors and felonies. Sincerest appreciation to Delegate Watts for being a voice for those who often have none. Her wisdom, compassion and determination are exemplary. Please pass these much needed bills. Thank you, Jude Harrison and family

These bills are important to me as a Disability CBO Leader in Arlington VA and as a neurodiverse individual residing in Arlington County Virginia. Please support and vote YES for both of these bills.

As the parent of a 20 year old daughter with profound autism, this legislation has been important to me since first introduced. Individuals on the autism spectrum and similar conditions are not afforded any latitude because of their disability. This bill is not asking for a blanket "pass", just that the mental/cognitive condition of a person be taken into consideration during an encounter with law enforcement. Similar bills have passed previously and been vetoed. I hope this is the year our loved ones are heard.

Dear Members of the House Courts of Justice, Criminal Subcommittee, Please Vote YES on HB247. I have a relative who has Autism. HB247 allows someone with intellectual disabilities (ID) or developmental disabilities (DD) to pause the case and ask the Judge to consider a deferred disposition earlier in the case rather than waiting until a plea. This makes it possible to divert someone with ID/DD out of the criminal justice system earlier in the court process. Please VOTE YES on HB247.

Dear Members of the House Courts of Justice, Criminal Subcommittee, Please Vote YES on HB2467. HB247 allows someone with intellectual disabilities (ID) or developmental disabilities (DD) to pause the case and ask the Judge to consider a deferred disposition earlier in the case rather than waiting until a plea. This makes it possible to divert someone with ID/DD out of the criminal justice system earlier in the court process. Please VOTE YES on HB247.

Please Vote YES on HB247- This bill allows a defendant with an intellectual disability (ID) or a developmental disability (DD) ask the Judge to consider a deferred prosecution at any point in the case. Currently, a deferred prosecution is only considered after a plea. This will allow diversion to be offered to someone with ID/DD earlier in the criminal justice process and prevent guilty pleas that are forced just to be able to access services. If the defendant’s ID/DD diagnosis substantially caused the criminal behavior then the Judge can pause the case and order a deferred prosecution. --If the conditions are met, which are set by the court, then the case is dismissed, and the charges are expunged. --Successful completion of the diversion ordered by the Judge means there can be a dismissal of the case without a conviction and then an expungement of these charges from the person's record, preserving their ability to access social services and supports. --Jails and prisons do not address disability related behaviors and diversion offers access to treatments and supports that can actually benefit the individual and prevent a recurrence of future offenses. The Judge maintains oversight and control, and yet judicial discretion is allowed. Please Vote YES on HB247

My older son, one of two on the autism spectrum, was dragged through the juvenile justice system twice when he shouldn’t have been. Once was due to his dad and his dad’s parents lying to the police (who never talked to my son nor explained any rights to him) and in court; the other was due to something he said to a classmate about another classmate whom took offense to it. He should NEVER have had to serve time in juvenile detention nor had to be on house arrest as, in both cases, he didn’t do anything. Unfortunately, due to his autism and mental illness, he was never allowed to speak to anyone about anything and ended up in JV detention and then 6 months on house arrest for something that ultimately got dismissed. Our justice system is completely backwards and broken, especially for people like my son who have trouble communicating in a calm and rational way. This should not be the case nor should it be tolerated. People like my son deserve a chance to have sentences deferred without a guilty plea and to be listened to by someone who understands them.

I’m writing in support of HB247, which allows deferred disposition in some criminal cases for persons with autism. If deferred disposition had been available in the past, it might have saved our family from catastrophe: A few years ago, our young adult son, who is on the autism spectrum, was arrested for downloading illegal images. He was evaluated by forensic and behavioral psychologists – who stated that his offense was directly related to his autism, that there was no criminal intent. Nonetheless, our son became a convicted felon, spent a year in jail, and will be listed on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. He will struggle to find housing, employment, and community support. My husband and I worry about how he will survive once we are gone. If HB247 had been in effect, deferred disposition might have rescued our son’s life. In the future, I hope HB247 will help rescue the lives of other autistic individuals. Our criminal justice system should NOT be a one-size-fits-all, punishment-first regime.

Something’s should have been looked into before and changed way before now.

This is a good start, this bill! As the parent of an autistic young adult, life is hard enough on these youngsters such that any bill that takes into account their unique needs and inability to function under regular order and rules of engagement which may even challenge some non-impaired citizens, ought to be routinely considered by this Assembly.