The Virginia state Houseās Courts of Justice Committee is weighing soft-on-crime legislation after Democrats won a trifecta in the stateās government.
House Bill 244, introduced by Democratic state Del. Vivian Watts on Jan. 8, would expand parole eligibility for certain convicted robbers and reduce the severity of specific robbery offenses. Democrats now control both chambers of Virginiaās legislature and the governorās office after the 2025 and early 2026 elections, with Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger swearing in on Saturday.
Watts did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationās request for comment.
The lawmakerās bill would remove some robbery crimes from those considered āacts of violenceā in Virginia.
Those convicted of lesser robbery offenses would be eligible for enhanced earned sentence credits, leading to lesser sentences. Former Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares linked the stateās Democrat-backed enhanced sentence credit program to an explosion of repeat offenders, the DCNF previously reported. Those offenders would also beĀ eligible for conditional release if they are deemed terminally ill.
HB 244 would also allow the possibility of parole for certain three-time convicts if one of their offenses was robbery by presenting a firearm.
Additionally, Wattsā bill would exempt thieves from Virginiaās āthree strikesā law, which gives repeat offenders enhanced sentences, unless their robbery offenses are in the top two degrees of severity. Those convicted under the āthree strikesā program would be eligible for parole if one of their three crimes was of the lesser categories.
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