On April 14, Gov. Spanberger signed SB18, which establishes that no child under 11 years old can be considered a “delinquent” and instead redirects them away from the justice system and toward community programs.
As a social worker (and abolitionist at heart), this is such an important step in avoiding the traumatization of children and disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline. The National Law Review has a great write-up on this bill in layperson terms, however, it misses an important element of the law: any petition alleging that a child younger than 11 years of age committed an act that would be considered delinquent if they were older may be expunged from their record.
This reminds me of the current fight in Virginia to release non-violent drug offenders from prison now that marijuana is (theoretically) legal. The organization Marijuana Justice is doing great work in this arena right now. An individual’s record can come back at a later time to create inequities in opportunity and treatment, therefore, allowing the expungement of such information is crucial to help true rehabilitation and justice happen.
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While I believe this policy will create positive outcomes for Virginia’s children, I would also love to see more proactive policies put into place that address the etiologies of underage violence and misbehavior: economic instability, generational trauma and abuse, over-policing and barriers to mental health support.
This is a great step, Virginia — let’s keep pushing to improve quality of life for our children and address the issue through a multipronged, humanistic approach so they do not have to interact with the justice system in the first place.
Laura Miller-Kim
Richmond
From the Archives: Virginia State Penitentiary
09-10-1968 (cutline): Inmates in the auto license tag shop prepare to hang newly stamped-out license plates to run through paint machine at State Penitentiary.
09-10-1968 (cutline): Prisoners who've returned to work have recreation privileges on Penitentiary yard.
01-24-1960 (cutline): Store where inmates, using scrip, buy personal effects at the State Penitentiary.
10-18-1962 (cutline): A. E. Slayton (center), rehabilitation supervisor at the State Penitentiary and Carroll R. Proctor, superintendent of prison industries, check progress of man in the woodworking department.
12-07-1966: Virginia State Penitentiary
03-01-1966 (cutline): Wilson I. Trayer (right) teaches barbering at the the State Penitentiary.
09-09-1968 (cutline): Virginia State Penitentiary commissary.
07-27-1962 (cutline): Inmates of the Virginia State Penitentiary have a graduation ceremony. Seventeen inmates received General Educational Development Certificates.
01-04-1961: Virginia State Penitentiary
07-22-1968: Virginia State Penitentiary
01-24-1960 (cutline): A prisoner at the State Penitentiary takes a strip of cookies from oven. Bakery makes quantities of bread, cakes and pies.
01-20-1960 (cutline): Despite prison bars in window, instructor John L. Scanlon teaches high school level class at the State Penitentiary.
04-11-1992 (cutline): The scene after the State Penitentiary was razed.
