Virginia Rising

Emphasizing that she did not want to set every prisoner free, Branch-Kennedy identified laws that enable judges to disregard sentencing guidelines without justification — policies she described as flawed.

Branch-Kennedy passed around pictures of men whose prison sentences grossly exceeded the recommended sentence. One Richmond man was convicted of malicious wounding and use of a firearm. The recommended sentence was 25 years, but he was sentenced to two life sentences plus 30 years with no possibility of parole. A man from Chesapeake was convicted of possession with intent to distribute 5 pounds of marijuana. The recommended sentence: two years. He received 31 years with no chance for parole.

“It may not be legally wrong, but it is morally wrong for something like that to take place,” Branch-Kennedy said.

Richard Walker helped lead the session as well. After serving 14 months for cocaine possession, Walker discovered how difficult life can be for an ex-convict. He started his organization, Bridging the Gap, to help former felons find jobs, restore their voting rights and, most importantly, avoid going back to prison. But, he emphasized, that is not easy in Virginia.

“Virginia is a beautiful place,” Walker said. “But if you commit a crime in the state of Virginia, it is the worst place in the United States to be.”

Walker said Virginia law, which denies felons the right to vote for life unless the governor restores that right, is overly punitive.

In Virginia, 350,000 ex-convicts currently do not have the right to vote, serve on a jury, be a public notary or serve in public office, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Walker said he is committed to getting 100,000 of those disenfranchised citizens their rights restored by the end of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s term.

“We have to change the face of Virginia from a punitive state to a redemptive state,” Walker said.

Richmond was the tour’s first stop; next it heads to Charlottesville, Petersburg and Williamsburg.