Virginia's complicated history of racial disparities still has consequences today. That's according to a new report from the Commonwealth Institute.
Ever since the English privateer ship White Lion arrived at Port Comfort in 1619 with 20 to 30 enslaved people, Virginia's legal system has never really lived up to its ideals. Kami Blatt is an analyst at the Commonwealth Institute who helped write a report documenting how the Slave Codes transformed after the Civil War.
"The 1902 Constitution stripped political power from Black folks through poll taxes and literacy tests and petty larceny disenfranchisement," Blatt says. "And then we see later in the 1980s through 1990s, Virginia adopted those tough on crime policies, [such as] mandatory minimums, longer sentences, broken windows policing and the abolition of parole."
She says one of the ways the justice system continues to harm people is how the court system charges fines and also fees.
"Fines are the consequence. Fees are not. They have nothing to do with accountability. They’re used to fund the court system, and they fall the hardest on folks who have the least ability to pay," Blatt says. "And that's why two people can receive the same charge but walk away with completely different outcomes depending on their income."
One potential fix members of the General Assembly should consider, she says, is changing the statute of limitations for court debt from 30 years to 10 years.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
