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Governor Bob McDonnell has granted the civil rights of 6, 874 felons under his administration. This is an all time high for a Virginia gubernatorial administration. Since the announcement of automatic restoration of rights on an individualized basis by in July, 1,577 rights have been restored.

“We are pleased with the number of rights that were granted. However, there is more work to be done,” stated Secretary of the Commonwealth Janet Kelly.  “Ninety days into the new system, with new procedures and new staff, we have a better idea of where to focus our resources so that non-violent felons who have paid their obligations and completed their time can have their civil rights restored. We thank the numerous stakeholder groups who helped us arrive at good procedures, and the feedback we have received from people utilizing the new process.”

I am thankful that this administration utilized stakeholders like the NAACP, ACLU and my organization, Rolling for Freedom to work diligently with the community, radio, television and social media. The work is not done. If you’d like to start the process of automatic rights restoration for non violent felony offenses, please e-mail Clovia Lawrence at clovia.lawrence@yahoo.com

New Criteria for Non-Violent Felon Restoration (effective May 29, 2013):

  • Have been convicted of a non-violent felony in a Virginia court, or convicted in a U.S. District Court, military court or a court of another state or territory
  • Have completed serving the prison sentence and been released from probation or parole; and
  • Have paid all court costs, fines to the Commonwealth and restitution to the victims, satisfied all court-ordered conditions, and have no pending felony charges.

Fill out the automatic restoration of rights request here.

From the Desk of Governor Bob McDonnell