News & Commentary

When we found out that Mr. Prease was going to be released, we rushed to Botetourt County to meet his family and waited alongside them to welcome him home. The photos below seek to capture an emotional homecoming moment for Mr. Prease's family.

Having spent more than two decades behind bars, Kion Davis is a published author who works diligently on his personal goals and mentors the people serving time with him – a task he has successfully accomplished with the love and support of his family and friends. 

A playlist by people who have earned their second chances.

We are disappointed by the court’s decision today. Virginia lawmakers gave incarcerated people greater incentive to pursue rehabilitation, but those incentives have now been eliminated for people with certain convictions.  

Virginia touts one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country, meaning that once people are released from prison, they generally don’t return. Yet there is no meaningful way to give people a second chance, even when it’s in the community’s best interest for someone like me to go home.

Let’s talk about what public safety means.

Population matters when it comes to redistricting, and that's why the way people are counted is so important. So how do prisons and the people in their custody impact the redistricting process? 

The stories of incarcerated individuals make it clear that jails and prisons are incapable of acknowledging the civil and human rights of their populations because they are systematically designed not to see people.

Before you bust out the weed thinking that marijuana is fully legal, you should know your rights. We’ve got a rundown of what you can – and can’t – do under Virginia’s new laws.