Virginia’s Supreme Court ordered the release of one of the hundreds of inmates who had been set to get out of prison early under a 2020 law expanding credit for good behavior.
The ruling Thursday in favor of Steven Patrick Prease, who argued state officials wrongfully denied him a sentence reduction, represents the first time the state’s highest court has weighed in on the issue. It paves the way for other prisoners to seek quicker releases, although it’s unclear how many could be impacted.
Youngkin and Miyares took separate actions last year to curtail implementation of the 2020 law that would have reduced the sentences of more than 3,200 state prisoners by expanding credits for good behavior. They contend it could increase crime and that the legislature improperly gave relief to some violent felons.In all, the moves delayed the early release of at least 550 inmates — but possibly many more — by months or years, according to numbers from the Virginia Department of Corrections.
When asked about the ruling at an unrelated event in Petersburg on Thursday, Youngkin said he had not heard about it yet but said he had “deep respect for our Virginia Supreme Court.”Advertisement Prease was convicted of two counts of attempted aggravated murder of a law enforcement officer, use of a firearm in commission of felony and assault and battery in 2013, after he shot at two police officers who were responding to a domestic assault call involving him in Botetourt County. No one was injured.
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