THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 1, 1994 TAG: 9410010008
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Voters, victims and law-enforcement officials all agree: Gov. George Allen's plan to abolish parole and reform sentencing in Virginia will incarcerate dangerous repeat offenders for a long time.
Our commonwealth finally has a leader ready to discard a dishonest, ineffective parole system in favor of a criminal-justice process that will require offenders to pay their full debt.
Under the governor's no-parole system, convicted criminals will serve at least 85 percent of their sentences - a remarkable increase from the 21 percent to 47 percent traditionally served by criminals in Virginia.
This increased prison time will remove offenders from our cities, suburbs and rural areas, the small population of compulsive, repeat offenders responsible for more than 80 percent of the violent crimes committed in the commonwealth.
George Allen campaigned on a platform of honest change for Virginia, and his parole-abolition plans holds true to this theme. Like so many other Virginians, I urge the General Assembly to get on board, especially on the issue of abolishing parole.
MERRILU ABLOWICH
Virginia Beach, Sept. 21, 1994 by CNB