I believe if a person commits a crime they need to face the consequences. The last three years our nation has been easy on criminals. Our nation is a mess and most citizens are tired of the lawlessness. "Let’s not forget that American democracy started with ‘We the People’ agreeing to work hard to create ‘a more perfect union.’ We’ve lost the idea that politics begins at home with what happens in families, in neighborhoods, in classrooms, in congregations. We called this democracy into being – and if we want to call this democracy back to its highest values, it’s got to be the us doing that calling. That’s not going to happen if ‘We the People’ don’t know how to talk to one another with civility and hold our differences in a creative, life-giving way." - Parker J. Palmer "Civility isn't just some optional value in a multicultural, multistate democratic republic. Civility is the key to civilization." -Van Jones

I would like for the committee to consider the the bill on the table today. So many individuals incarcerated are far removed from the people they were 10, 5 ,20 years ago.

I support HB45 and HB77 and HB834 because I am a firm believer that not all law codes pertain to the actual crime of the person but sometimes it is the law code that they have no choice but to sentence the individual under and in that case, people are over sentenced in our state. Prisons and jails in Virginia are over populated and this is one of the reasons. My husband has been incarcerated for 10 years and has had no chance to have any incentive to do better. When the bill HB45 was supposed to go through before the budget ammendment was put into effect, a bunch of human beings were let down, both incarcerated and the families as well. DOC had people have their hopes up and then the governor shot all that down. Home plans, medical was all initiated just to have all that ripped away. Then came all the lawsuits and there are still alot of them going on as we speak and will continue. There have been overdoses and deaths and all kinds of foul things going on since this. When we had covid drugs were still getting inside of prisons yet there were no contact visits for almost 2 years and there was still a drug problem inside all facilities so where were the drugs coming from at that point? We need to help these men and women in a positive manner and maybe give them some initiative to be better and prosper inside those walls. An inmate is just a number in the state of Virginia it seems and honestly they are not treated as well as it is seems but they are humans. The only difference between them and people of the free world is that THEY GOT CAUGHT and some didn't. I have so much more I could say but I believe in second chances and I believe when one is sentenced they get over sentenced due to the nature of the law code and that crime only falls under that said law code but that does not mean the crime committed was as it seems in the public eye. Thanks for your time and I pray these guys and gals will have some better initiative to look forward to in 2024.

Please vote no on HB 394, HB 391, HB 399, HB 400, & HB 77. We no longer want to live in a state that is"tough on crime" without providing proper mental health and meaningful rehabilitation. We believe in public safety AND human rights. Virginia does NOT need the death penalty. We need reform. Focus on root causes of problems using common sense.