NEW DATA TOOL - Virginia's Repeat Offenders link: virginiacourtcasedata.netlif… FINDINGS: Since 2020, two of every three Virginia felony cases have involved someone already convicted or awaiting trial. Nearly 8 in 10 repeat offenders’ felony cases end dropped, with no jail time, or under a year behind bars. Five or more prior convictions buys only a 1-in-4 chance of a year in jail. First-timers: 1 in 6. Newport News drops over a third of repeat offenders’ felony cases; Stafford drops one in eight. One in five Virginia felonies was committed by someone already facing charges in another open case. Most felony cases involve repeat offenders. Only 22% of their cases end with a year or more inside. Dismissals for repeat offenders run 32–36% in Hampton Roads cities and Richmond, versus 12–13% in Stafford and Hanover. Felony cases are down 21% since 2014, yet dismissals are up and fewer repeat offenders serve a year or more. Just 5% of defendants account for nearly a quarter of criminal cases. Over half of violent felons had a prior conviction. One in eight who started with drug or property charges went on to violence; 4 in 10 had earlier gotten off light.

In June 2020, a crowd gathered in Portsmouth, Virginia to deface and dismantle a Confederate monument—with State Senator Louise Lucas amongst them. Lucas is captured on police body worn camera telling officers on scene “I’m Senator Louise Lucas. I know I’m in disguise, but they are going to put some paint on this thing. You can not arrest them. You need to call Dr. Patton (the city manager), because they are going to do it. You can’t stop them. This is city property.” When Angela Greene, then police chief, told protesters to stop their vandalism and alerted Lucas that they were “not authorized to be on the property,” Lucas replied “They are now. They are now. This is city-owned property.” Greene assured Lucas that she had, in fact, just spoken to the city manager and confirmed that no such action was permitted. Chief Greene refused to back down. She later launched an investigation and announced felony charges (including injury to a monument and conspiracy) against Senator Lucas and several others for their lawlessness that day. Shockingly, the felony charges against Senator Lucas and the other defendants were dismissed later that year... And Chief Greene was wrongfully terminated for upholding the law. LELDF was proud to support Greene's lawsuit against the city and various officials—and though her suit was not successful, it is undeniable that she was severely wronged for standing up for law and order.