I am a resident of Arlington, VA (22203), and I am writing to you today to share my support of criminal justice reforms for the Commonwealth of Virginia I know that the Virginia General Assembly has been working on these issues and made substantial progress in recent years, only to see the legislation vetoed by our previous conservative governor. However, November’s elections brought a hopeful change to the Commonwealth. It is my hope that beginning this year that progressive change can become a reality in the Commonwealth. Mass incarceration is a particularly significant problem in Virginia. According to data compiled by the Vera Institute of Justice, in 2015 Virginia had locked up almost 60,000 people, an increase of nearly 300% since 1983.  Virginia ranked first among Southeast states in jail population per capita and third in prison population per capita. This measure, along with many other important considerations before this committee will help reform our justice system and reduce the mass incarceration currently in our Commonwealth. Thank you!

Members of the General Assembly, I respectfully submit this comment in strong support of HB193 and to recommend a complementary oversight mechanism to address instances of judicial noncompliance with Virginia sentencing law. HB193 is a necessary and measured response to a documented breakdown in compliance following Fishback v. Commonwealth (2000), which required juries to be instructed that parole had been abolished. When legally mandated procedures are not followed, the legitimacy of the resulting sentence is compromised. HB193 does not provide automatic release; it simply allows parole consideration in cases where the sentencing process itself was flawed. That approach reflects fundamental fairness and respect for the rule of law. In addition to supporting HB193, I urge the General Assembly to consider establishing an independent review and notification mechanism for cases in which judges sentence outside Virginia’s sentencing guidelines without articulated reasons, or where patterns of noncompliance are later identified. By way of example, in the case of Sterling Graham, an Alford plea was accepted for an 18-year sentence, after which the presiding judge imposed additional life sentences without documented justification for the departure from the guidelines. That judge was later removed from the bench. However, the individual directly affected by the sentencing irregularity was never notified or provided a mechanism for review. Regardless of the ultimate merits of any single case, this illustrates a serious systemic failure: when judicial misconduct or noncompliance is identified, there is no structured process to review impacted cases or notify affected individuals. Sentencing guidelines exist to promote consistency, proportionality, and public confidence. When those guidelines are disregarded without explanation—and when subsequent findings raise concerns about a judge’s conduct—justice requires more than silent correction at the institutional level. It requires transparency and a pathway for those harmed by such failures to be informed and, where appropriate, seek review. A limited oversight committee or review body would not undermine judicial independence. Instead, it would: * Identify patterns of unexplained guideline departures * Refer cases for appropriate review where systemic issues are found * Ensure affected individuals are notified when judicial noncompliance may have impacted their sentence HB193 reflects the principle that legality in sentencing matters. A complementary oversight and notification mechanism would reinforce that principle and help ensure that when the system fails, those failures are acknowledged and addressed—not buried. For these reasons, I urge the General Assembly to support HB193 and to consider additional safeguards that promote accountability, transparency, and fairness in Virginia’s sentencing system. Respectfully submitted, Tonya Wright Wisdom’s Embrace 757-309-1733

I am writing in support of the earned sentence credit bill HB361 and the robbery bill HB 244. I believe any time spent incarcerated should be under the approved earned sentence credit and should be calculated accordingly. Each jail has their own system and then VADOC has its own system. By unifying how earned sentence credits are calculated ensures that the adults in custody are not held unjustly and prevents confusion, and possible law suits. As a former VADOC employee, it is extremely confusing and frustrating for both staff and inmates alike attempting to figure out what the jail’s policy on earned sentence credit is. It also causes inaccurate calculations and double work by time computation employees at VADOC because they have to continually recalculate time based on what the jail sends them. By unifying the system, those incarcerated are given fair sentencing and helps eliminate possible law suits for the Commonwealth. In regards to HB 244, I understand that robbery can be traumatic for a victim. However, if no weapon is used and no victims are physically harmed, it cannot be considered a violent crime. To classify it as such is unconstitutional. A violent crime can only be committed when violence occurs. If a person walks up to someone and says give me all your money or I’ll hurt you, but they don’t, then no violence has been committed. Sex offenders get less time than those convicted of robbery without violence or a weapon. I support second chances and I think it is crucial to the strain on our prison system and tax payers to sentence these offenders to the proper length of time and allow them to earn the proper earned sentence credit. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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

When my husband was charged, he spent months in jail simply because we could not afford bond. With this extra jail credit, he could come home a few months sooner. His mother is elderly and ill, and this would give him precious time to be with his momma while he still can.

Thank you for considering this important issue that impacts our communities. I support HB361 because it's not uncommon for it to take a long time for a case to progress to sentencing, and incarcerated people have no control over this timeline. Being able to earn credits while awaiting sentencing encourages good behavior and participation in educational programs. This practice would also reflect good stewardship of taxpayer resources because we would spend less money on incarcerated individuals who are taking an active role in their rehabilitation. To me, it seems fair that time spent in jail should count regardless of whether it occurs before or after a sentencing date.

I urge the committee and house to support HB361. In a justice system designed to punish instead of rehabilitate, there are few incentives for good behavior and program participation other than Earned Sentence Credit (ESC). Individuals who are incarcerated prior to their final sentencing deserve to earn the same ESC credit as they do in the days after their sentencing. Without this change, Virginia is punishing individuals for a timeline they do not control. Even on the FASTEST possible timeline including a plea agreement, sentencing takes a minimum of six months. Currently, six months to sentencing means spending 60 days longer in confinement. Most sentencing processes take much longer. This costs taxpayers real money. We are paying to confine people longer who have no disciplinary issues and are seeking to better themselves by participating in programs. What could possibly be gained from that? HB 361 will ensure that every day of confinement counts toward a person’s earned credit calculation, provided they meet the requirements. Please apply these changes retroactively, ensuring that those currently in the system are treated equitably under this updated standard.​

On behalf of the Virginia nonprofits organization Resource information Help for the Disadvantaged and Disenfranchised (RIHD) member ship, we support HB361 Earned sentence credits; incarceration while awaiting trial or pending an appeal.. We ask that you vote “yes” to move this fair, and necessary bill forward. Thank you

Written Testimony Submitted by Keyosha Farris on Behalf of Demetrius Kidd.... To the Honorable Members of the Courts of Justice Criminal Committee: My name is Keyosha Farris, and I am submitting this testimony on behalf of my partner, Demetrius Kidd, who has been incarcerated in Virginia for over 15 years. While he is unable to attend today, he has asked me to share his perspective regarding the proposed Earned Sentence Credits bill. Demetrius strongly supports policies that allow incarcerated individuals to earn credits for positive behavior, participation in rehabilitation programs, education, and work assignments. After more than 15 years in prison, he has firsthand experience of how such programs can inspire accountability, personal growth, and hope. Earning sentence credits is not just about reducing time served; it is a meaningful incentive that motivates people like Demetrius to continue engaging in educational, vocational, and therapeutic programs. It also helps maintain connections with family, strengthens rehabilitation, and encourages a safer, more productive environment within prisons. Demetrius respectfully asks the committee to consider the human impact of this bill. Supporting earned sentence credits can foster transformation, reduce recidivism, and create real opportunities for individuals who have committed to change ultimately benefiting both incarcerated individuals and the wider community. Thank you for your time, attention, and consideration of this testimony. Respectfully, Keyosha Farris, submitting on behalf of Demetrius Kidd

My husband is currently serving time for a probation violation. I would love to see this bill pass so he could come home to his family

To whom this may concern, My husband, Jamar Shelton has been incarcerated since the age of 17 for a crime he did not commit (allegedly at the age of 16). A few weeks after his 18th birthday, he was sentenced as an adult, to 50 years with 25 years suspended and probation for life upon release. (Again for a crime he did not commit) His life will be hard even after his release but he deserves a chance to be home with his wife and the opportunity to start building a family together. My husband is now 39 years old, he has spent 22 of those years in Virginia state prisons (all across the state). Throughout his sentence he has maintained good behavior, he mentors others, stays out of the way and attends classes when available. (And when pods aren’t on lockdown) He remains humble, is always kind to others, and deserves to be home. If this bill passes, my husband could be home and we can begin building our family before it’s too late! Thank you for your time! Mrs. J Hope

I am writing in support of Virginia House Bill 361. My perspective comes from personal experience. My loved one has been incarcerated within the Virginia Department of Corrections for 17 years. During that time, he has spent long periods confined under conditions and policies that offered no opportunity to earn sentence credits — despite consistent effort, good behavior, and personal growth. HB 361 is not about excusing past mistakes. It is about fairness. Time served is time lived, and individuals should not be denied earned sentence credits simply because of when their incarceration occurred or circumstances beyond their control. After 17 years, I have seen how denying earned credits deepens hopelessness while recognizing effort encourages accountability and rehabilitation. I respectfully urge you to support HB 361 and help ensure Virginia’s sentencing system reflects fairness, humanity, and modern justice principles. Thank you for your time and consideration. Respectfully, T Faye

I support this bill because it’s just the right and fair thing to do. If someone is sitting in a jail, hospital, or juvenile facility waiting for trial or an appeal, they’re still locked up. They’re away from their family, can’t work, and are living under strict rules every day. That time isn’t imaginary—it’s real punishment—and it should count when their sentence credits are calculated. This also matters for people who stay in jail simply because they can’t afford bail. Two people charged with the same crime shouldn’t end up serving different amounts of time just because one had money and the other didn’t. That’s not justice—that’s inequality. At the end of the day, this bill doesn’t let people off the hook. It just makes sure the time they’ve already paid with their freedom actually counts, encourages good behavior, and uses taxpayer money more wisely.

Our loved ones are in the process of rehabilitating themselves! With the help and support of family & friends we are helping them reintegrate into the world. Please allow this credits to be passed. These men are fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, grandchildren, please allow them to come home sooner versus later and begin to become productive working citizens!

Hello, my loved one is one of the unfortunate inmates housed at River North Correctional Center. His release date that DOC calculated never included 14 months of working time that he worked everyday in Henrico Jail that he was supposed to have 15 days knocked off his sentence time. Instead he got into some trouble while asking for medical care, which the charges were later reversed , but he got sent the Western Region prision system and shoulf essentionally probably even be released with time served had the time he had been promised had been added to his sentence. Alot of inmates have worked hard with jobs and programs for self improvment while incarcarated and to give them the time off that they worked for is what they deserve. Please consider this bill to allow those who are serious about their rehabilitation to return to their loved ones sooner. They worked for this right.

Dear Honorable Legislators, My name is Brianna Woods, and I am writing to express my strong support for HB361. This legislation is deeply personal to my family and has significant implications for fairness and justice within the Commonwealth of Virginia. My husband, Lamont Woods, was held in the Henry County Jail for three years while awaiting the completion of his trial before being transferred to the Virginia Department of Corrections. Despite this substantial period of incarceration, he does not currently receive credit toward earned sentence credits for that time served. This outcome is inconsistent with the original intent of the Earned Sentence Credit bill, which was to ensure that all time served is treated equitably. While incarcerated, my husband has worked diligently to better himself. He has remained active in our children’s lives, followed institutional rules, maintained good behavior, and participated in programs designed to support rehabilitation. Earned sentence credits exist to incentivize exactly this type of conduct and to prepare individuals for successful reintegration into society. Denying credit for time already served undermines this goal and discourages meaningful rehabilitation efforts. Opponents of this bill argue that reducing sentences diminishes accountability and disregards the impact on victims and their families. However, accountability and rehabilitation are not mutually exclusive. The purpose of incarceration is not solely punishment, but also rehabilitation, personal growth, and the eventual return of individuals to society as responsible and law-abiding citizens. Recognizing time already served does not negate accountability; rather, it promotes fairness, consistency, and the effective use of earned sentence credits as the law intended. For these reasons, I respectfully urge you to support and pass HB361. This bill represents a fair, just, and balanced approach to sentencing that benefits not only incarcerated individuals and their families, but the broader community as well. Thank you for your time, consideration, and service to the Commonwealth. Sincerely, Brianna Woods

​To the Honorable Members of the House/Senate: ​My name is Annuteaka Harris, and I am writing to express my strong support for HB361. This legislation is a vital step toward ensuring fairness within our justice system, particularly for individuals like my husband, Winston Harris, who are working diligently toward successful reentry. ​The Earned Sentence Credit (ESC) program is a cornerstone of rehabilitative policy. It provides a powerful incentive for incarcerated individuals to maintain positive behavior, adhere to facility procedures, and complete educational and vocational programming. However, a significant gap currently exists: many individuals serve months or even years in local jails awaiting trial or transfer before their credits are applied. ​I urge you to support HB361 for the following reasons: ​Standardization and Fairness: Currently, the amount of time an individual spends in jail versus a state facility is often a matter of administrative timing rather than the nature of their offense. HB361 ensures that all qualifying time served is treated equally, regardless of where the individual is housed. ​Incentivizing Positive Behavior: Jail environments can be unpredictable. By applying ESCs to jail time, we encourage individuals to begin their rehabilitation immediately upon entry, rather than waiting until they reach a state facility. ​Accountability: This bill is about the legislature following through on the intent of the ESC program—rewarding those who do the hard work of bettering themselves behind bars. ​The justice system should reward accountability and growth. HB361 ensures that the rules are applied fairly to everyone who has earned their credits through good conduct and hard work. ​I respectfully ask for your "YEA" vote on HB361. Thank you for your time and for your dedication to the citizens of Virginia. ​Respectfully, ​Annuteaka Harris

When arrested for a crime and held in custody, the days served waiting for trial etc count towards any sentence later given. As inmates within the Department Of Corrections are given the opportunity to earn sentence credits through good behaviour and engaging with programs, it should follow that the sentence credits include the time served prior to sentencing. If this time is considered part of the sentence itself, it makes sense that the conditions imposed during time within DOC also apply to the entire sentence. This is not a guarantee of an earlier release, but further motivation and opportunity for inmates to use their incarceration for rehabilitation and to prove that changes in behaviour have been made prior to release. This house bill will also ensure that sentences and time served are accurately and fairly calculated. For example, conpare two inmates (assuming the same crime/sentence/good behaviour while in DOC) if one inmate spent 24 months awaiting trial and the other spent 10 months, their release dates would differ which does not afford each person fair and equitable treatment. This house would rectify this issue.

Currently, the way sentence credits are applied means individuals who are incarcerated prior to their final sentencing do not receive the same incentives for good behavior and rehabilitative progress as those already in the state system. HB 361 addresses this by ensuring that every day of confinement counts toward a person’s earned credit calculation, provided they meet the behavioral requirements. ​I support this legislation for several key reasons: Promotes Fairness: It ensures that an individual’s ultimate release date is based on the total time they have been incarcerated. Encourages Positive Behavior: By making credits available during the pre-trial and appeal phases, we incentivize individuals to engage in productive behavior and follow facility rules from the moment they enter the system. Reduces Overcrowding: Recognizing time served more accurately helps safely transition individuals back into the community, reducing the fiscal and administrative burden on our local and state correctional facilities. Retroactive Justice: I particularly support the provision to apply these changes retroactively, ensuring that those currently in the system are treated equitably under this updated standard. ​HB 361 is a common-sense step toward a more transparent and just system. I urge you to support this bill when it comes before your committee and on the House floor.

My husband is currently incarcerated serving a four year sentence on a marijuana charge with the handgun. He is a model citizen and should be allowed to at least serve 50% of his time due to mandatory minimum on a marijuana charge with the weapon he is serving his full term and should be home with his family. He is a non-violent criminal and deserves to be able to serve his time honesty with at least parole or probation..

HB 193 (Extending parole eligible/ post fishback/ sentence after June 9, 2000. In these turbulent times, it is crucial that you as Virginia lawmakers make things right. By doing so you will be correcting many wrongs to individuals who have made a mistake and find themselves behind bars which could be anyone of us. I am writing to ask you to Vote Yes for HB 193. Lay people are sometimes not aware of changes, but our judges are informed about any changes in criminal justice and they already know what they have to do, be transparent when giving instructions to the jury about the life of an accused individual. Everyone that is committed to prison is not bad people but just need to be reminded they are human beings and they have a responsibility to society. Once they have shown for years they have come back into their real self and demonstrate fundamental change by having the same routine day in and day out. This request is in accordance with the Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (2000) in which the Supreme Court held that a jury should be instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished for a felony committed after January 1995, and can prove the preponderance of the evidence that a jury was not instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished, there are individuals that remain behind bars for the same offense on July 2025. Their annual evaluation says a lot about how an individual has changed or not. Thank you. Lorrene Crowell

I strongly support House Bill 361 because it addresses a basic issue of fairness in Virginia’s sentencing system. People who spend months or even years in jail before being sentenced or while waiting on an appeal are already serving real time. That time is credited toward their sentence, yet under current practice, it often does not earn earned sentence credits, even though the person was confined the entire time. HB 361 recognizes a simple truth: time served is time served, regardless of whether it happens in a jail or a prison. Denying earned sentence credits for jail time unfairly extends incarceration for reasons completely outside an individual’s control. No one should serve longer simply because their case took longer to resolve. This bill does not eliminate accountability or compromise public safety. It ensures equal treatment, accurate sentence calculations, and basic fairness. Passing HB 361 would correct an unjust gap in the law and affirm that Virginia values consistency, transparency, and humane justice.

HB361 We are compelled to draw attention to a critical procedural issue currently impacting the administration of earned credits within our correctional system. It has been observed that the Department of Corrections is initiating the accrual of these vital credits based on an undefined "custody responsibility date." This interpretation of policy leads to individuals being detained for periods exceeding their legally mandated sentences, often by several weeks or even months, consequently undermining the explicit provisions of established law. To rectify this systemic discrepancy and ensure robust adherence to statutory mandates, the expeditious enactment of legislation concerning earned sentencing credits (ESC) for jail time is not merely advisable, but critically essential. This legislative measure is specifically designed to bring the Virginia Department of Corrections practices into unequivocal compliance with the clear language of existing statutes. Its implementation will guarantee that earned credits are accurately applied from the legally stipulated commencement date, thereby preventing any further instances of unlawful over-detention. It is paramount to recognize that this reform represents a fundamental imperative, not a discretionary option. Its passage will enforce the unambiguous intent of the law, fostering a framework of fairness, consistency, and legal accountability in sentence calculations across the entire Commonwealth.

It is time to enact ong overdue reform in our prisons, jails, and courts.