Senate approves bill to allow prison sentence changes

The Senate passed a bill by Albemarle Democrat Sen. R. Creigh Deeds to allow people to petition the court for modifications of their prison sentence.

The 21-19 vote was along party lines with Democrats in favor of the bill, SB-427 , that would allow inmates to petition the court that made the original judgment to suspend the rest of their sentence, put them on probation, or change the original sentence.

“This bill is about compassion and responsibility, recognizes that individuals can change,” Deeds said during the Senate Courts of Justice Committee hearing. “It provides an incentive for inmates to engage in therapeutic and educational programming and seek redemption.”

“Some states that have implemented the second look cause have a recidivism rate of 1.6% and Virginia’s overall recidivism rate is 20%. “We are incarcerating individuals that are well beyond when they are likely to re-offend.”

Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain opposed the bill for multiple reasons.

“I can’t get courts to schedule cases until 2025,” Obenshain said during the hearing. “I do believe that this is going to have an impact on the significant ability to get prompt civil and criminal justice. We have no idea what impact this is going to have.”

Troy Ketchmore gave his testimony in favor of the bill to the committee.

Ketchmore is the founder of Ketchmore Kids Incorporated, “a non-profit organization that uses hip-hop music to teach kids about maturity, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.”

Ketchmore served 26 years and eight months after being wrongfully convicted and the victim’s family asked the parole board to release him. Ketchmore recently went to the White House and had a meeting with the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

“They want me to go across the nation teaching our model to other cities around the nation,” said Ketchmore.

Michael Grey of Richmond told the committee he opposed the bill on behalf of his son Joshua Grey, who was robbed and killed by a 15-year-old boy while trying to sell an iPhone.

“For this bill to be put in place, to allow criminals to have the ability to petition to come back out and to put victims in the same courtroom we were in 10, 15, 20 years ago. I am not a proponent. You just don’t understand,” Grey said.

In agreement, Kristen Hubbard shared her testimony and the details of her troubled past.

Hubbard was a freshman at George Mason University in 1992. That year, Hubbard and her friend were held hostage and repeatedly beaten and sexually abused in a Maryland motel. The Washington Post referred to Hubbard as “the survivor of a horrific crime that had riveted the nation’s capital.”

“We were kidnapped at gunpoint, repeatedly raped, beaten, made to dig our own graves and you think that that is sufficient 15 years, 20 years, 25 years. I have a life sentence sir, I don’t get a second chance, I don’t get parole,” said Hubbard.

Following Hubbard’s testimony, Deeds offered his closing remarks: “Sometimes when you lose somebody there’s never closure. What we don’t recognize is that when a crime occurs there are multiple victims. Sometimes the person who goes away has a spouse and kids and they’re victimized too. This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.”