The 71st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Bob McDonnell announced during the 2013 State of the Commonwealth Address that he supports automatic restoration of rights for non violent felons.
Governor McDonnell said during his speech on Wednesday night at the State Capitol that his administration has now restored the civil rights of more Virginians than any other Administration in state history. To date, he has restored rights to 4,423 individuals.
Governor McDonnell, in his speech, will support legislation which would allow for automatic restoration of rights for non-violent felons once they have served their sentence and paid fines/restitution.
Here are the comments on this from the Governor’s address:
“Second, we’ve dramatically improved our prisoner re-entry system. We want more good citizens, not more returning prisoners. Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that our Administration has now restored the civil rights of more Virginians than any other Administration in state history.”
“While we have significantly improved and fast-tracked the restoration of civil rights process, it’s still an executive process. As a nation that believes in redemption and second chances, we must provide a clear path for willing individuals to be productive members of society once they have served their sentences and paid their fines and restitution. It is time for Virginia to join most of the other states and make the restoration of civil rights an automatic process for non-violent offenders. This session, Delegates Greg Habeeb and Peter Farrell have introduced bills to address this issue, and I urge you to support legislation for the automatic restoration of rights for non-violent felons.”
Join Miss Community Clooovia and the Rolling for Freedom Project for Voter/Restoration of Rights Rallies across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Stay viewing for scheduled rallies.
For more information about the restoration of civil rights process, please visit Secretary of the Commonwealth
