Within days of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger being sworn in, members of her party introduced a flurry of amendments looking to end mandatory minimum sentences for various crimes within the state.
According to Jason Miyares, the former Republican attorney general, House Bill 863 includes proposals to effectively eliminate minimum sentencing for manslaughter, rape, possession and distribution of child pornography, assaulting a law enforcement officer and other repeat violent felonies.
Additionally, Democrats are also looking to remove the mandatory five-day minimum sentence for certain first-time DUI offenders.