Is The Virginia Department of Corrections [VADOC] Counting Dead and The Terminally Ill Released Prisoners In Its Claims of Low Recidivism? By William Thorpe

Virginia Republicans abolished parole as part of the Commonwealth's imprisonment scheme in 1995. Parole only exist now for the imprisoned prior to 1995 and the geriatric prisoner. [see VA. code 53.1] so any measure of recidivism is dealing with 2 types of prisoner groups:.

• Those imprisoned before 1995 who are either completing their sentence, geriatric parole or the lucky few who get parole.
• And those imprisoned after 1995 with sentences lesser than the 27 years since the abolish of parole.

So now to examine VADOC's claim of low recidivism. Let's begin with the recidivism of the second group. Virginia historically is an inordinate amount of sentence state. So the pool of prisoners, since 1995 who have been released to then return to prison is a small and minuscule percentage to actually and accurately factor for claim of low recidivism by VADOC officials, considering that the post abolish of parole prisoner is serving a lengthy sentence, staying in Virginia's prisons longer      which the director of Virginia prison system, Harold Clarke has relatively acknowledged. So the only pool of prisoners whose release is significant enough to reflect and support recidivist speculations are those imprisoned prior to 1995. Most of the pre parole abolish prisoners have been imprisoned anywhere from 50 years to 1 year which subsequently is a relative small pool in comparison with the post parole abolish 1995 imprisoned to the present. Now despite the practicality of recidivism claims for the pre parole 1995 prisoner, the reality is those prisoners, because of specific factors as age, being dead and infirm are not enough to make any recidivist based claims on. What we ask VADOC to clarify and explain is, in the best of times Virginia's grant of parole is stingy and the majority of prisoners being released pre 1995 are elderly and most with terminal illness, who are dying within 2 years of release.

So the fact of the matter is VADOC has to be including dead prisoners, disabled and infirm prisoners, the terminally ill released prisoner who can never return and will not return to prison in its claims of low recidivism and not only is it disingenuous but it is outright deceptive and insidious to claim something which the circumstances surrounding the claim are patently distorted.

I'm William Thorpe held at the Wainwright Unit of the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice in solitary confinement because Virginia exiled me to Texas

VAPAC Applauds Pastor Harvey Yoder, Ms. Kathleen Temple and Ms. Molly Gill of FAMM

Law and Order is essentially the state of control. Prison and the condition of imprisonment are its mechanism. The work and its advocacy of qualifying the focus of law and order and the reform of the imprisonment condition is simply that of to what extent are we practical about our social contract, meaning how honest are we in understanding the social contract and accepting its realities.

Towards reforming the imprisonment condition we have to engage each other with understanding the social contract and accepting its realities. As such we must discuss our experiences, observations without idealistic suppositions.

VAPAC as mechanism demanding accountability and transparency of the imprisonment condition is established and structured to do exactly that. Consequently when we encounter the labors of our fellow social members also demanding accountability of the social contract. We at VAPAC will recognize, applaud and appreciate their efforts.

Recently, Pastor Harvey Yoder, Ms. Kathleen Temple, and Ms. Molly Gill of FAMM each engaged us with op-eds encouraging us to resist the existing colloquial suppositions and its narrative of Virginia's imprisonment condition. In other words, they asked that we think on the practicality of keeping imprisoned persons whom it made no sense to keep interned. They explained to us that the imprisonment condition isn't a cost-benefit analysis and as such, it requires a scrutiny which is the embodying operative of our social contract. Their work expects we reject the malfeasant notion that the prison official is beyond reproach and it instructs that as citizens of the commonwealth we have to hold law and order accountable.

In conclusion, we need more of the efforts of Pastor Yoder, Ms. Temple, and Ms. Gill not less

By VAPAC