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VA Attorney General Candidate Jay Jones Calls on AG Herring to Support Repeal of Qualified Immunity
Qualified immunity provides protections to police officers to shield them from civil lawsuits for actions they take while on duty. Democrats attempted to get rid of these protections during the special session in 2020, but they failed to garner enough support within their own party to pass the legislation. Now state Del. and candidate for attorney general Jay Jones released a statement calling on Attorney General Mark Herring, his primary opponent, to join him in calling for an end to qualified immunity:
“Today, I’m calling on Mark Herring to support the repeal of qualified immunity in Virginia and fight to bring true accountability to policing in our Commonwealth. Too often, justice before the law is denied to Virginians who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement because of the outdated practice of qualified immunity. It’s time to tear down this dark relic of the past and instead build true trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve by holding responsible officers who abuse their position,” Jones said in a statement Monday. “Despite numerous instances of police misconduct coming to light, Mark Herring has refused to take action on police accountability. Instead of fighting for reform, he has played political games, pointed fingers, and sought to dodge responsibility however he can. Our Commonwealth needs an Attorney General who understands we cannot continue down the same path of unaccountable police brutality if we are going to truly embrace the new Virginia decade.”
The Virginia NAACP released a statement over the weekend saying they will be launching a campaign to end qualified immunity across the commonwealth. “We watched with horror the so-called traffic stop in Windsor,” said Virginia NAACP President Robert N. Barnette, Jr., referring to the now widely-circulated video clip of Caron Nazario, a Black Army second lieutenant who was pulled over in Windsor, Virginia. Despite being in uniform, Nazario immediately had guns drawn towards him by two town police officers.
A press release from the Windsor Police Department says that the officer involved in the incident has been terminated, though it is unclear if that termination took place before or after the video went viral causing national outrage against the actions of the officers.
Herring released a statement over the weekend saying he is monitoring the situation.
Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam says he directed the Virginia State Police to conduct their own independent investigation of the incident. “At the Chief’s request & Governor’s directive, [Virginia State Police] is initiating a thorough & objective criminal investigation into the 12/5/20 traffic stop conducted by the Windsor police officers,” the Virginia State Police said in a statement Sunday.
Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn raised over half of a million dollars in the first three months of 2020.
Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn released her first-quarter fundraising numbers showing the most cash on hand of any Virginia Speaker of the House entering the second quarter of an election year.
Filler-Corn has over $1.75 million cash on hand in her combined accounts after raising over $580,000 in the first three months of 2021, which included a prohibition during the General Assembly Session. The Speaker has committed to using every resource at her disposal to ensure the House of Delegates’ remarkable progress is protected for future generations.
“Virginians have seen Democrats govern effectively these last two years, delivering on promises they made to voters during the 2019 campaign,” said Tyler Javonillo, a campaign spokesman for Speaker Filler-Corn. “This incredible show of support is a clear sign that House Democrats have the energy and momentum needed to effectively communicate their record to voters, as well as defend and expand their majority.”
Brownies, revenge and a doctor’s touch: inside the close vote to legalize marijuana in Virginia – Virginia Mercury
by Ned Oliver
It was a few hours until the General Assembly would vote on final amendments to legislation that would make Virginia the first state in the South to legalize marijuana and Sen. Adam Ebbin, one of the bill’s Senate patrons, was feeling confident.
As a joke, he stopped by a Richmond bakery to pick up a plate of brownies, commonly associated with the drug they were about make legal. “I thought it would maybe lighten the tone,” Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said. “Several members asked what was in them and I told them they were placebos.”
A tale of two Holly Hazards running for House of Delegates – The Free lance-Star
by AdeleUphaus
Holly Hazard hadn’t yet announced her campaign for the House of Delegates when a friend called her to report that, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, she was already a candidate.
“They said, ‘You’re already listed as a candidate in the 38th District,’ ” Hazard recalled recently. “I said, ‘I don’t live in the 38th District!'”
New Virginia law would set up retirement accounts for people whose employers don’t offer one – The Virginian-Pilot
by Ana Ley
A new law being considered by Gov. Ralph Northam would set up a retirement savings plan for private-sector workers whose employers don’t give them one.
The so-called VirginiaSaves program would allow Virginia to offer IRA accounts to people with no other options to save for retirement. The bill lets the state take a no-interest treasury loan of up to $2 million each year until it is self-sustaining. Eligible businesses wouldn’t have to chip in, and employees will be automatically enrolled but they have the option to opt out of investing.
Lawmakers push Biden for federal money to help Virginia avoid delays as it digs deeper shipping channels – The Virginian-Pilot
by Gordon Rago
Talks about the Port of Virginia deepening and widening its shipping channels to make room for larger cargo vessels have spanned several years.
It was welcome news, then, when dredges hit the Chesapeake Bay in December 2019 to start digging, the first step in a project that aims to make Hampton Roads’ port the deepest on the East Coast.
Enslaved people built the University of Virginia. Now there’s a monument honoring them. – Washington Post
The Rotunda, with its tall columns and domed roof, is the centerpiece of the University of Virginia’s idyllic campus, a building designed by Thomas Jefferson, who modeled it after the Pantheon in Rome, as he sought to build a school that embraced rigorous intellectualism and egalitarianism. But in a grotesque contradiction, enslaved laborers brought that vision to life.
The Rotunda now has a brick-and-mortar counterpoint, a memorial where visitors can honor the lives of the 4,000 enslaved people whose forced labor built the stately campus. On Saturday, in a prerecorded virtual ceremony, the university dedicated the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, the product of more than a decade of advocacy by students, historians, activists and descendants.
More News:
- Virginia’s homebound seniors feel left behind in vaccine rollout. How can they get their shots?
- Presence of graves near proposed casino site stirs objections from descendants and neighbors
- UVa researcher says central information system needed before next pandemic
- Local funding for vaccine clinics relatively low
- The Great Dismal Swamp was a refuge for the enslaved. Their descendants want to preserve it.
- Commentary: Then and now: Protest songs remind us in times of tumult that we’ve yet to realize our aspirations