WORKING TOGETHER
FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE “Tough on crime” prosecutors are a key driver of mass incarceration described accurately by Michelle Alexander as “the new Jim Crow.” Prosecutors, known as Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia, make decisions about who gets prosecuted for what crimes and who gets a plea bargain with little or no public scrutiny or accountability. The result is a system that has perpetuated social, racial, and economic injustices across generations. A network of CJP alumni and others are trying to change this system.
2019 NEW LEADERSHIP
Retired public defender Jim Hingeley is elected Commonwealth’s Attorney (CA) in Albemarle County. He promises to use restorative justice to reform the criminal legal system.
2020 LEGAL CHANGES FOR DIVERSION PROGRAMS
In response to advocacy by progressive CAs, the General Assembly makes some changes to the Virginia criminal code allowing for easier diversion of cases for alternative dispositions including restorative justice.
2020 NEW STAFF
Hingeley hires Samantha Markley and Shannon Pollock Neal MA ‘11 as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys based on their experience with restorative justice. “In many criminal cases the parties agree about what happened, and the questions change from what happened to: What can be done about it, how can we fix this? What is the harm, and how can the parties address it? In restorative justice people have an opportunity to take responsibility and make things right. Restorative justice offers a more human approach than our current criminal legal system provides.” Shannon Pollock Neal
8 | CJP IMPACT REPORT | 2021
EARLY 2020 COVID-19 DISRUPTS TRAINING PLAN
FALL 2020: CASES DIVERTED TO RESTORATIVE JUSTICE ONLINE
Shannon Pollock Neal provides a training for the CA office staff to introduce concepts and goals of restorative justice. With Susan Painter, a victim witness advocate with the Albemarle County police department, Shannon plans to attend a multi-day training sponsored by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and supported by the FairField Center. The training is canceled.
Charlottesville-based restorative justice facilitator Bob Garrity facilitates two cases on Zoom. Everyone is surprised and delighted with the results in the online setting. Bob Garrity teaches in EMU’s Restorative Justice in Education graduate program.
PROBLEM IDENTIFIED
• Without a budget, the defendants have to pay for the restorative justice option. • Are we just replicating the social injustices of the system?
