We need to be certain this is the direction

We need to be certain this is the direction we want Virginia to take.

Certainly public anger is justified wheh a prisoner recently released from prison after committing a Violent crime commits another violent crime. We feel in a reasonable system such things would rarely happen.

The new system by which juries know of a convicted person’s record before imposing a sentence is a long-needed improvement. So too is the proposed “truth in sentencing” effort by which juries would learn if they impose a 15 year sentence when the convicted person would be eligible for parole.

However, we have to wonder whether eliminating the hope of parole permanently might be counter productive. If a prisoner will get out of prison on the same date whatever his prison behavior, he might be far less likely to take part in literacy programs, learn skills for resolving conflicts in a nonviolent way, or get training for life after prison. Such a change might make the state’s prisons far more dangerous places to work.

We also wonder why the proposal to eliminate parole for violent criminals also involves redefining violent crime to include burglary and possession of 10 grams or more of cocaine. We are aware that drug use is too frequently associated with violent crime, however, drug possession itself is not violent.

Victims of burglary often report feeling “violated.” But, in fact, their property not their persons, has been violated. Will public safety really be served by locking drug users and burglars up for long periods of time with rapists and murderers?

Estimates of the cost of the governor’s proposals range from $1 million to more than $2 million. Is this the best use of the state’s limited resources?

In recent years the state has cut funding in several areas. In Rappahannock we have been directly affected by cuts to the Extension Service in losing our agricultural agent. It has been many years since the state paid its fair share under its own formula for library services. We have also felt the cuts in funds for higher education when our students take five or more years to get through state universities because required courses aren’t offered, and parents have felt the effects of higher tuition.

Although the economy has recovered from the recession, the governor tells the state’s universities to prepare for further cuts. There is no reason to expect extension services, libraries or public schools to fare any better. The state’s budget is still stressed, chiefly because of increasing costs of Medicaid and prisons.

A public frightened of losing its health benefits is also frightened of changing the health system which is partly responsible for bankrupting states. Now a public frightened of crime is being asked to fund many more prisons.

How about a system that would require violent criminals to serve at least 60 percent of their sentences before being eligible for parole? And let’s continue to restrict the definition of violent crime to crimes of violence against people.