VIRGINIA – Attorney General Jason Miyares claims a program that releases people earlier who served time is costing taxpayers more money and claims the program is dangerous.
Miyares sent a letter to the General Assembly, urging leaders to use money on public safety instead of the Enhanced Earned Sentence Credits program.
The EESC program helps those who have served time to be released earlier from prison.
Miyares claims of the nearly 10,000 people released under the EESC program, data from the Virginia Department of Corrections show nearly 3,000 people were re-arrested in Fiscal Year 2023.
Miyares claims taxpayers would have to front the bill, claiming it would cost $7.3 million to continue to run.
“Aggressive sentence reductions for violent criminals and those with high risk for recidivism disregard past and future victims. allowing such a practice is not justice, and it’s not safe,” Miyares said.
American Civil Liberty Union Leaders sounded off against the letter. They said the Attorney General did not give any evidence to support his claim.
“Basically, the letter from the attorney general is half-truths,” Shawn Weneta with ACLU Virginia said.
We have learned that the Virginia Department of Corrections uses three measures re-arrest, reconviction, and reincarceration.
10 News saw that based on VADOC’ s data, there has been an increase.
Fiscal Year 2019 shows in general, people re-arrested jumped from 13% to more than 30% in 18 months.
Re-convictions jumped and reincarcerations also increased.
ACLU leaders are working with the Humanization project which released their own letter asking the General Assembly to use money to fully enact the EESC.
In their letter, they said if 2,000 people were released over two years it would save the taxpayers $28 million because they would no longer be in jail.
“This can save the commonwealth money and those savings should be earmarked for victim services,” Weneta said.
You can read Miyares’ letter below.
AG Miyares Letter to General Assembly 2.27.24 by WSLS on Scribd
You can read the Humanization Project’s response letter below.
Truth on Expanded Esc-Evidence Based Response by WSLS on Scribd