Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508140033
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LESLIE TAYLOR and KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Falkinburg's comments were prompted by a recent story in The Roanoke Times about state prisoners who'd been sent to a Texas prison for lack of space in Virginia's correctional facilities. Accustomed to working for 20 to 45 cents an hour in Virginia, they were working for free in Texas.
Virginia pays inmates for work - sweeping floors, serving food, pressing license plates. Texas does not.
Some Democratic lawmakers raised questions that the Allen administration's contract with the Texas prison might violate state law. But Falkinburg objected that inmates in Virginia's correctional facilities were paid at all. He said he hadn't known that until he read the article.
Now Falkinburg wants the compensation law repealed - and pledged to work to do so if elected.
"I find it absolutely ridiculous that these prisoners are allowed to be compensated for any work they do while in prison," he said. "Inmates are there to pay their debt to society, not to earn a paycheck.
"For 16 years, my opponent has been part of the same Democratic majority that has allowed these kinds of shenanigans to take place."
Falkinburg referred to legislation passed in 1982 that reaffirmed the inmate pay system, established in the 1950s. Woodrum "signed on to the concept," Falkinburg said.
Woodrum confirmed that he voted in favor of the bill, as did a majority of other House members, including Minority Leader Vance Wilkins, a Republican from Amherst County. He said the pay system was part of an 80-page bill that simply reorganized the existing state laws on prisons for legal purposes but didn't necessarily enact new policies.
Moreover, the pay system can be changed administratively, without the legislature's involvement, Woodrum said. A state statute gives the Virginia Department of Corrections director and the state Board of Corrections the authority to establish or reconsider a system of prison pay incentives, he said.
"His quarrel is with them, not with me," Woodrum said. "It's unfortunate that someone running for public office has not bothered to inform himself on the basic facts of an issue before issuing some type of pointless broadside on the issues."
Thomas and Artis
spar on crime
Republican House of Delegates candidate Jeff Artis has a message for voters: He's tougher on crime than his opponent, Del. Victor Thomas, D-Roanoke. And Artis hasn't been shy about sharing his viewpoint.
He's written news releases and is making the assertion to constituents as he goes door to door passing out campaign literature in the district that covers Southeast Roanoke, Northeast Roanoke, part of Northwest Roanoke and the Peters Creek Road section of Roanoke County.
Artis said his claim is based on Thomas' vote on a 1994 House bill that proposed increasing the mandatory minimum prison term for using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
"To people in Southeast [Roanoke], crime is an important issue. To make our streets safer, you lock [criminals] up longer. The message to criminals is that their behavior is not going to be tolerated," said Artis, a former in-school-suspension teacher at Patrick Henry High School.
In its original form, the legislation Artis is referring to would have lengthened the mandatory prison term - for which a person cannot receive parole - from three years for a first offense to five, and on a second offense from five years to eight. It also would have added carjacking to the list of crimes for which a person could receive the penalty.
However when the law was enacted in July 1994, only the carjacking portion of the legislation was intact.
The change in sentencing time was removed from the bill by the House Appropriations Committee, of which Thomas is a member.
Later, the Senate attempted to amend the bill and put the increased-sentence portion back. However, a vote, which was split primarily down party lines with Democrats voting against it, rejected the amendment.
Thomas, who introduced Virginia's first bill to create a mandatory sentence for using a firearm in the commission of a felony, has a simple explanation for his decision. And he said it has nothing to do with his stand on crime.
Keeping criminals in jail longer means spending more money, Thomas said. He put the pricetag for those additional years in jail at about $19 million.
"Everybody wants to say, 'I'm tougher than you are.' It reads good, but in reality, whatever you do, you got to pay for it. That's what it boils down to," he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB