Category: Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement
-
What Is Cuccinelli’s Role in Defining Extremism?
By Peter Galuszka Allegations that the Wolverine Watchmen, a far right extremist group based in Michigan, discussed kidnapping Gov. Ralph Northam draw questions about the role another Virginia politician has played in defining extremist threats. Kenneth Cuccinelli a former Republican attorney general and failed gubernatorial candidate, has been accused of helping delay a report by…
-
The Plot to Nab Northam
By Peter Galuszka Self-styled “militia” members based in Michigan accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also considered nabbing Ralph Northam, Virginia’s governor, according to court testimony Tuesday. Both Democratic governors were considered fair game because they supposedly had taken strong measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic. At a hearing in Grand Rapids,…
-
A Reasoned Approach to Neck Locks
by James A. Bacon Democrats may control both the state Senate and the House of Delegates, but it is increasingly apparent that there are significant differences between the two chambers. The House, to borrow Freudian symbolism, reflects the id of the Democratic Party, the subconscious urges welling up from the reptilian brain. The Senate functions…
-
Yes, the General Assembly is Still in Special Session
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It is time to check in on the progress of the endless session of the General Assembly. It is apparent that it was a mistake for the House to meet virtually. If the Delegates had been required to stay in Richmond the whole time, rather than being able to “attend” committee meetings…
-
Henrico was Right to Defund Special Prosecutor of Police
by James A. Bacon Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas has yanked supplementary funding for a police-misconduct prosecutor after reading the social media posts of the woman hired for the job, Misty Whitehead, a defense attorney. In an era in which police actions have come under heightened scrutiny, the new position would have been the first…
-
Three Reasons to Take Down the “F— UVa” Sign
Aubrey M. Daniel III, an alumnus of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond law school, made his name as a young Judge Advocate General captain who successfully prosecuted the court-martial of Lt. William L. Calley Jr. for his role in the infamous My Lai Massacre. Daniel went on, after his military career,…
-
Virginia’s Parole Board in the Shadows
by Kerry Dougherty Last spring we ran an accidental series of stories about the Virginia Parole Board, which was busy releasing some of the commonwealth’s most depraved criminals. At first we learned of one murderer being released from prison. A few days later we heard about another and another until we had six. Before we…
-
Hitting a Cop With a Pretzel Will Still Be a Felony
By Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the pieces of the criminal justice reform package that caused some consternation on this blog has been killed in a House committee. SB 5032 (Surovell, D-Fairfax) would have amended the statute that makes assault of a public safety employee, including a law-enforcement officer, a felony, with a mandatory minimum sentence…
-
Progress Check on Criminal Justice Reform and Budget Fix
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Although there is not an official “cross-over” deadline for legislation in the special session, each house of the General Assembly seems to have largely completed consideration of its own bills. Thus, this is a good time to review their progress on enacting the Democrats’ agenda on criminal justice reform and revising the…
-
Protesters, Stay Away from Hospital ERs
by Kerry Dougherty Since Virginia’s lawmakers are determined to waste our money and their time on a special session in Richmond where they’re ramming through laws that should wait until they officially meet again in January, here’s one more to put on their list: How about making it a felony — with mandatory prison time…
-
Trump’s ICE Scandal in Farmville
By Peter Galuszka In a remarkable display of incompetence, the Trump Administration this summer transferred dozens of undocumented aliens being held in detention centers in Arizona and Florida to a private prison in Farmville just so special federal tactical officers could beef up crowd control in Washington, D.C. Consequently, some 300 inmates at the Farmville…
-
Defund the Police? Heck No.
by Kerry Dougherty It was easy to miss. Buried near the bottom of page 2 in Monday’s Virginian-Pilot was a five-paragraph story headlined, “Officials: Va Beach police fatally shoot man during domestic dispute.” Pay attention, because the volatile situation at the heart of this news report is repeated night after night in big cities and…
-
Murder and Marijuana in Northern Virginia
By DJ Rippert Risky business, reccless behavior. Federal prosecutors recently charged members of a Northern Virginia drug gang, the Reccless Tigers, with a variety of felonies. A US News & World Report article claims multiple members of the gang have been charged with “murder in a sweeping new indictment that blames the northern Virginia street…
-
Voters Oppose Contracts That Protect Bad Cops
By Steve Haner As yet another bitter conflict over a police officer’s use of deadly force divides America, this time a case in Wisconsin, Virginia’s General Assembly forges ahead with opening up the state to the police unions that usually rush to protect their members from discipline or dismissal. The Kenosha Professional Police Association was…
-
Be Careful What You Ask For!
By Dick Hall-Sizemore Increasing earned sentence credits for offenders in state prisons seems to have a good chance of passing in the General Assembly session. SB 5034 (Boysko, Fairfax) has been reported by the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and re-referred to the Finance Committee. The House Democratic Caucus’s agenda for the special session…