Op-Ed: Unite for Second Chances with Second Look

As anywhere trauma and deprivation reign, hope is priceless and all too rare behind bars.

Around here, we’re all closely following this legislative session, often with anxiety and sadness. Too many politicians followed an election season of ads demonizing us with a raft of bills trying to undo every bit of reform progress made recently and then some. Meanwhile, they’ve blocked most of the efforts by dedicated advocates and legislators attempting to continue bringing Virginia past discriminatory, draconian criminal justice roots to embrace evidence-based second chances.

Our one remaining hope, the sole route to letting us EARN our way to early release only when we’ve proven ourselves rehabilitated, is the Second Look bill that just passed the Senate. Everyone here excitedly follows its progress and, to a man, we ALL desperately hope it will pass.

Now we hear some of our own advocates are railing against it. While we empathize with their motives and support their valid points, the net effect of their critique is to hurt us and bolster the many “conservative” voices who vehemently resist all efforts at incentivizing with earlier release the growth and healing that promote the values they claim. Thus, we implore everyone who believes in second chances, cares about criminal justice reform, promotes social justice, or advocates for evidence-based public safety: PLEASE UNITE IN SUPPORT OF THE SECOND LOOK BILL THIS SESSION!

Please don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Above all, this is our only current chance to pass legislation that can open any doors or encourage rehabilitation and will likely remain so at least another year. Having already passed the Senate with some bipartisan agreement, we need every bit of support possible to get it through the House and pressure the governor.

We recognize Second Look’s imperfection, but it is very, very good. It is carefully crafted to actually succeed while offering many great people behind bars an immediate chance to be judged by our own actions SINCE our convictions using clear metrics.

Frankly, we are slightly insulted by the critiques of this bill. Certainly systemic racism imbalances the institutional infractions meted out inside DOC, but we are capable of overcoming that hurdle in the name of widespread chances at freedom. Being judged by behavior we control is MUCH better to us than anything we’ve been offered before or will be soon if this fails.

Likewise, other critics’ claims that everyone with a long sentence can never be worthy of release insults the motivation and strength provided by family, education, faith, and reflection. They confine us to disproven stereotypes and define our entire lives by our worst mistake. Would they want the same treatment?

The Second Look bill actually combats many inequalities by providing the very first chance for early release based upon objective standards. It eliminates subjective, who you know considerations that produce inequity in current parole and pardon processes. Here is transparency. Here is a way our growth MUST be considered and reconsideration MUST be given the lengthy original sentences that are so deeply part of systemic bias.

For many of us with violent convictions, terrible actions so many years ago, this is our ONLY way to EARN the chance to reunite with family and improve our communities. We’ve founded non profits, written books, educated ourselves, taken every self improvement program offered, and elevated our mindsets. We long to share our lessons and give back, but politics, stigma, and a newly minted anti-second chance parole board have effectively closed off all avenues. Second Look would give EVERYONE who can demonstrate improvement at least a chance. For anyone who supports expanded parole and universal good time credits as incentives to be our best selves and thus make our communities safer, this is the way to go right now.

This is a real chance for ALL of us to EARN freedom from sentences that ignore who we are today. Thus it is what we ALL want. We call for unity behind tangible opportunities that we inside support, offering us hope and fairness we’ve long been seeking. We already have so many working against us. The only way to obtain second chances, thereby strengthening our families and making Virginia safer, is to stand together. We don’t have to agree on everything to be allies. The US and Soviets fought the Nazis together. A fist is only strong enough to fight for justice with all its fingers, especially when it’s already shackled.