The 2021 West Virginia legislative session ended last month, and now that the majority of the bills have been signed by the governor or passed into law without his signature, we can take stock of how criminal justice policies fared at the Capitol. The 2020 session saw several bills that were strides toward reform and…
Criminal Legal System
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Last spring, a small, bipartisan group of West Virginia lawmakers embarked on an enormous task — the rewriting of several hundred pages of criminal law. Read the full article. Every one to two weeks, the five House delegates would meet over a video conferencing app to consider a new section…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - On this West Virginia Morning, healthcare costs continue to rise around the country and can cause tremendous stress for consumers. But several bills being considered by the West Virginia Legislature aim to reduce those costs and put more money in the pockets of West Virginians. Also, we learn about a massive…
West Virginia saw an unprecedented drop in the incarcerated population at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the beginning of March 2020 and April 15, 2020, the state’s total incarcerated population fell by nearly 13 percent as officials made efforts to prevent COVID-19 spread in jails and prisons. While the number of incarcerated people…
Join the West Virginia Criminal Law Coalition and our special guest panel on March 30 as we watch and discuss the new docuseries "Philly DA" ahead of its premiere. "Philly DA" is a groundbreaking documentary series embedded inside the long-shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend…
The West Virginia Legislature is one-fourth of the way through the 2021 session, and thus far the focus has largely been on areas other than criminal justice. Legislation concerning criminal law that has been passed out of committees includes a juvenile restorative justice program and several bills that enhance sentences for certain crimes. Last Friday,…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - A bill to rewrite state law for hundreds of criminal offenses cleared the House of Delegates following less than half an hour of debate Wednesday. Read the full article. Over the course of nearly 400 pages, House Bill 2017 updates hundreds of crimes and replaces the state’s process for sentencing with a…
Mountain State Spotlight, The Record Delta - Autumn came, followed by winter, and John Hammond remained in jail. Read the full article. “I miss being around my wife, my kids,” the 48-year-old said in a phone call from Central Regional Jail in December. Men were arguing loudly in the background. He did his best to ignore…
West Virginia MetroNews - When she was first sentenced to time in prison, a West Virginia woman said she did not know what to expect. Read the full article. “You’ve got to learn hard and you’ve got to learn fast,” said Crystal Allen who served three years in prison for shooting her first husband. When…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - Over the last few years, members of the West Virginia Legislature have passed a handful of laws aimed at reforming the state’s criminal justice system. Read the full article. But no one could’ve anticipated the toll that the coronavirus pandemic would have until lawmakers were just adjourning in March 2020.…