| NORFOLK— During a press conference today, Delegate Jay Jones released a comprehensive, forward-looking plan to reform Virginia’s justice system. The plan highlights Delegate Jones’ top priorities if elected attorney general, including ending inequities in the judicial system, improving policing and ending brutality and abuse, and making building a fairer and more equitable Virginia a priority for the Attorney General’s Office.
READ THE FULL PLAN HERE“I’m running for Attorney General because we’ve made progress in building a more fair and equitable Virginia, but we all know we have not come far enough,” said Delegate Jay Jones. “The vestiges of slavery and Jim Crow live on in our Commonwealth’s criminal code, in our judicial system, and in our policing. They criminalize Black and Brown communities and make every Virginian less safe. That’s why I’m proud to announce this comprehensive and forward looking plan to bring about true reform to the Attorney General’s Office. I believe we have a special moment in our country and in our Commonwealth. We must elect leaders who will rise to that moment and seize the opportunity to create real change in our justice system. The policies we have outlined are not a panacea, and they will not erase hundreds of years of inequality, but I believe they are a critical next step and I’m so proud to be highlighting them in this campaign.”
“Jay Jones was essential in bringing an end to the death penalty, a descendant of lynching, and was on the frontlines working for the comprehensive reforms we have passed,” said State Senator Joe Morrissey. “And now, with this plan, he is laying out a forward-looking vision for building on the work we have done. This is the plan of someone that wants to be a proactive fighter on behalf of Virginians who for too long have been left out and left behind by our justice system. Over his time in office, Mark Herring has failed to do that. He’s bent with the political winds and followed rather than led. He created an Animal Rights Unit before a Civil Rights Office. And now that he has a Civil Rights Office, he fails to use it. I know Jay Jones won’t have to be pushed when standing up for Civil Rights. That’s why I’m so proud to support him in this race.”
“Working alongside Jay Jones for the last four years, I have seen someone who is dedicated to fighting for justice in this Commonwealth,” said Delegate Patrick Hope. “I stood shoulder to shoulder with him working to end the death penalty and fighting for the historic reforms we passed with Governor Northam. But I know, and Jay knows, that what we’ve accomplished so far isn’t enough. We need a real leader in the Attorney General’s Office who will move the ball forward on justice reform issues and be proactive rather than reactive. This comprehensive plan for reform is a roadmap for the next steps we have to take on criminal justice reform. Politics isn’t about what you support or what you believe in the abstract, it’s about what you do. Mark Herring has been silent and inactive. Jay hasn’t been, and I know he won’t be when he’s Attorney General and that’s why I’m so proud to support him in this race.” |
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
