THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409090039
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Gov. George Allen's Parole Abolition and Sentencing Plan will come before the General Assembly for action later this month. Every Virginian of voting age should call his or her state delegate or state senator to urge passage of this very important piece of legislation.
Gov. Allen's plan targets violent and repeat offenders. When this legislation passes, victims will no longer see their assailants out on the street after serving only a short period. And victims will no longer have to appear year after year in front of a parole board pleading to keep a murderer or rapist behind bars and off the streets.
While Virginia has historically enjoyed a lower crime rate than most states, the commonwealth has experienced a steady increase since 1988. From 1988 to 1992, the per-capita rate of violent crime has increased 28 percent, the highest increase since 1972.
Under the current parole system, the average felon serves from 22 to 47 percent of his or her sentence. The average good-time allowance is 300 days credit for every 365 days of incarceration. This is ludicrous. A 1987 study by the National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Justice Department found that it costs society on average 17 times as much to release a violent criminal early as it does to keep him or her in prison.
EDWARD L. SCHROCK
Virginia Beach, Sept. 2, 1994 by CNB