Governor Warner restoring rights to felons at quick pace

[FriscoLady]

"Warner restoring rights to felons at quick pace
By JOHN HOPKINS, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 24, 2004
Last updated: 12:23 AM

In a matter of months, Gov. Mark R. Warner will have restored civil rights to
more ex-convicts than any other governor in Virginia’s modern history.
Warner, a Democrat, has restored voting and other rights to more former state
convicts during the past two years than the past two Republican governors –
Jim Gilmore and George Allen – did during their combined eight years in office.
Not since Gov. Charles S. Robb, a Democrat who served from 1982 to 1986, has
any governor restored civil rights at such a pace.
“As long as I’m governor, this is going to be our approach, ” Warner said
this week. In Virginia, anyone convicted of a felony loses certain rights,
including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury or act as a notary
public. The state is one of only seven where felons have their voting rights
taken away for life.
However, the governor has the discretionary power to restore all citizenship
rights, except for the right to possess a firearm. Felons do not become
eligible for rights restoration until years after they have completed any sentence.
Robb, during his four-year term, restored rights to 1,180 felons. Warner, in
just two years in office, has restored rights to 1,018 .
By the end of June, Warner’s total will likely surpass Robb’s, said Bernard
Henderson, deputy secretary of the commonwealth of Virginia.
“I’m very proud of Governor Warner for doing this,” said Sandra Brandt,
director of the Norfolk-based STEP-UP Inc., an acronym for Skilled Training,
Employment Placement, Upward Progress. “I think he’s done a great job for the
people in Virginia by offering them the opportunity to get their rights restored.”
Other governors, going back to 1939, don’t come close to Warner, according to
records from the secretary of the commonwealth.
Allen restored rights to 476 felons during his term from 1994 to 1998. And
Gilmore did the same for 241 people between 1998 and 2002.
Gilmore said this week that he restored rights to only those felons who had
shown a good record since the conviction and had done positive things in the
community. “I never felt that I was particularly strict about it,” he said.
The disparity between Virginia governors does not appear to be tied to party
affiliation.
For example, Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat who served from 1990 to 1994,
restored rights to 427 felons, but his predecessor, Republican John N.
Dalton, restored rights to 939 between 1978 and 1982.
“Different governors have different approaches to this,” said Henderson,
whose office receives about 20 applications a week. “So it pretty much depends on
who the governor is and what his previous disposition is on these things.”
Warner said he was motivated to be more aggressive in restoring rights by
what he heard during his 2002 election campaign. Many people, including
ministers, told him about the difficulties ex-convicts face in returning to society.
“It just seemed like Virginia’s process was unfair ...” he said. “We had
about the most restrictive process of any state in the nation.”
Most states automatically restore a felon’s right to vote once he or she has
completed a judge’s sentence, paid fines and made restitution.
The only way to regain the vote and other rights in Virginia is to petition
the governor. Felons guilty of nonviolent crimes must wait three years after
satisfying their debt to society before they can make the request. People
convicted of violent crimes must wait five years.
The process does not give a felon the right to possess a firearm. Owning a
gun requires yet another step involving petitioning the courts.
Warner said he believes that bringing people back to full citizenship after
they have paid their debt to society benefits everyone. He has even simplified
the process for nonviolent offenders, streamlining the paperwork from 14 pages
down to one.
“I think that some would say, 'Once you commit a crime, there is no place for
you,’” Warner said. “I believe we want to encourage people to become
productive.”
Warner is to be commended, said Eddie Hailes , senior attorney for
Advancement Project, Washington, D.C., a national policy and legal action organization.
“We’re happy to see anybody restore their voting rights, and the number that
the governor has restored is historical in Virginia. Yet until Virginia
removes its permanent disenfranchisement scheme, there’s still going to be a large
number of people who are unable to participate in our democracy.
“The regrettable reality is that over 100,000 of that number is
African-American men who had their rights taken away,” Hailes said.
Of the 73 people from South Hampton Roads given back their rights in the past
year, 62 percent were convicted of crimes such as burglary, fraud, bad checks
and receiving stolen goods.
About one in three were convicted of selling or possessing illegal drugs. The
local felons were among nearly 500 people who had their rights restored by
Warner between January 2003 and January 2004.
The Virginia constitution mandates that each governor provide an annual list
of clemencies to the General Assembly.
A small percentage of the ex-convicts in South Hampton Roads who had their
rights restored in 2003 had committed violent crimes.
Christ Trager was one of those offenders. In 1979, he smashed his 18-year-old
victim’s skull and sank the body in the waters of a Virginia Beach borrow
pit. Trager eluded police for nearly three years before his capture in
California.
He was convicted of second-degree murder in the beating death of Jeffrey
Ellis and sentenced Sept. 22, 1982. Trager satisfied his debt to society in 1989.
His rights were restored on Sept. 22, 2003.
The large majority of cases before the governor, however, involve nonviolent
offenders, such as Eugene Christman Jr. In 1989, Christman was one of two
watermen who used clam tongs to illegally lift relics – such as bones, brass
buttons and glass bottles – from sunken Civil War ships in the shallow waters of
the James River.
He was convicted in federal court of trafficking in archaeological resources
and sentenced Dec. 3, 1993. His rights were restored July 14, 2003.
“They have paid their debt,” Hailes said . “Many of these people are not the
people today that they were when they committed these offenses. ... Whole
communities are robbed of political participation when these people have their
rights taken away.”
Warner said he is aware that he is making history.
“I have made sure this has been a priority,” he said. “This is something I
monitor closely.” "

Thought that this would be of interest to everybody. I wish that government of the Commonwealth would change the law so that those of us with convictions for violent crimes could have our rights restored.

But this is good news for those with non-violent convictions. Take advantage of this if you can and apply now! Who knows what the next Governor is going to be like.

Patti

[narleymarley03]

Go ahead Gov Warner !!!

[smurfette75]

Good for him!

[TainoSolidad]

Thank you for posting such an excellent and timely article. I wrote to Governor Warner recently about this issue and encourage everyone to write. It's time to make this issue a force.

In addition to writing to the governor yourself, send that article and the governor's address to someone you know who's lost their right to vote. Afterall, if it's not a "privilege" but a "right" then government has no "right" to take it away from anyone.

You may write to Virginia's governor at:

Governor Mark R. Warner
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

[tommysmommy]

hi i was convicted of a violent felony in 2000.i had just turned 18...do you have any idea what i should say to the governor?

[FriscoLady]

tommysmommy,

Go ahead and check into this, however, it is my understanding that those with a conviction for a violent crime in Virginia are not eligible for this under the law. I would contact your state representatives office or the Governor's office to check this out first. That was what I was told a few months back when I looked into it, but I did not pursue it too hard then. I am in position now where I have a stronger desire to reestablish my rights. However, TainoSolidad stated it correctly - if it is a right then how can they take it away from us!

I did read in the article that a small no. of people in Hampton Roads with violent convictions have had their rights restored. I am going to make a few calls myself this week or next. If I find anything out I will post it.

Patti

[tommysmommy]

thank you so much.i hoinestly dont believe i shouldve recieved a felony charge but i guess everyone claims to be innocent.i definatly would like to but this behind me...atleast some of it.

[TainoSolidad]

Originally Posted by tommysmommy

hi i was convicted of a violent felony in 2000.i had just turned 18...do you have any idea what i should say to the governor?

I don't know what you personally could say to the governor but here are some general ideas. If any of them apply to your situation, be my guest and use them.

• Understanding of the need to resolve issues in a nonviolent manner.

• An understanding why rules and laws must be followed; the impact to others of not following rules.

• Remorse for contributing to violence by being violent.

• Volunteer or church work completed that was not mandated by the courts.

• Demonstrations that you have been a law abiding citizen, i.e., not breaking any laws.

• A statement by a psychiatrist or psychologist attesting to your ability to remain a positively contributing member to society.

Hope this little off the top of my head list helps. I'd also encourage you to post a draft of your letter online or PM'ing posters you trust to get some feedback.

You'll only have one chance to get the governor's attention and to do that you must get his attention within 15 seconds of his starting to read your letter. Make it count. Get as many people as possible to read your letter and lend you their constructive criticism.

Good luck!