THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120294
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The General Assembly approved a broad restructuring of Virginia's juvenile justice system Monday, including harsher penalties for violent teenagers and increased spending on treatment and prevention programs.
The Senate and House of Delegates approved the plan in the final minutes of the 1996 session, sending the package to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law.
``I think Virginians are going to see this really have an effect, not just on the kids who are committing crimes but on those who are on that track,'' said Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, D-Norfolk, chief sponsor of the reform package.
``It's not just locking children up, it's lifting them up, too.''
That legislators waited until the final day of this year's lawmaking session to pass a bill they have worked on more than a year speaks to both the complexity and the political sensitivity of a proposal considered a banner issue of 1996.
The plan grew from the reports of two commissions that studied juvenile justice, one named by Republican Gov. George F. Allen and another appointed by the Democrat-controlled legislature.
The two commissions first seemed contradictory - the Allen commission concentrating on harsher sentences while the legislature focused on treatment alternatives.
But the package that passed Monday included the bulk of both reports. The package was hailed as this year's great bipartisan success in a capitol that still smells of smoke from the bitter legislative battles of 1995.
Among the provisions passed Monday:
Juveniles 14 and older who are accused of murders will automatically be tried as adults in Circuit Court. They could be sentenced as adults.
Those accused of other violent crimes, including sex crimes such as rape and sodomy, could be tried as adults at the discretion of the commonwealth's attorney, a new power for prosecutors under Virginia law.
Any juvenile convicted of a crime that would be a felony in adult court will no longer have his or her court records sealed. Any case in adult court is now open to the public.
The state will spend an additional $14 million on various community-based corrections programs, designed to give judges alternatives to incarceration. Other juvenile justice spending: $10 million to counsel first-time offenders, $8 million for new prosecutors and probation officers, and $1.5 million to defend indigent juveniles.
The compromise almost collapsed Sunday, when Del. C. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, the House Majority Leader, refused to sign on until he was convinced that enough prevention money would be approved.
Cranwell signed the compromise report Monday afternoon, content that his concerns had been addressed. The Senate passed the measure 36-4, the House 95-4.
Assuming Allen signs the bill - he has supported the effort and his staff helped write the legislation - the changes would apply to any crime committed after June 30.
``The effects of something like this aren't going to be seen right away,'' said Sen. Mark L. Earley, who, along with Jones, was one of the chief sponsors of the package.
``But, over time, hopefully you're going to see fewer juveniles who enter the system and fewer repeat offenders.''
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY CRIME JUVENILE by CNB