The subcommittee granted relief to Messiah Johnson, a man wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for nearly 20 years, while advancing five other bills and tabling a proposal to give the Virginia Disability Commission its own staff on cost grounds.
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David A. Reid moved to table HB 1433, arguing that the cost would be upwards of $500,000 in ongoing general fund money and that the Disability Commission has been around since 1990 and continues to do outstanding work without having a full-time staff. Amy J. Laufer sponsored the bill to allow the commission to hire an executive director and other persons, but did not speak on the record in this transcript to counter Reid's position.
“Based on that court's ruling, Mr. Johnson sought expungement of his criminal record in the Norfolk Circ Court where this occurred, and it granted his request in December of 2025. So just a couple months ago, Mr. Chair, Mr. Johnson's petition for writ of actual innocence was based on a”
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Sign in to subscribeAll right. Good afternoon. We call to order the general government and Capital Outlay Subcommittee of appropriations. Monday, February 9th to order. And first up, we're going to call on. Oh, I'm sorry. Let's do our attendance. Please open a roll. Members, cast your presence. Okay, we do have a quorum. All right. First up on the docket we have House Bill 1472. And we will call on Delegate Rip Sullivan. But as he comes, I just take the chair's prerogative to say that as a general government and capita outlay committee, we rise and certainly have heavy resolute heart to acknowledge the wrongful incarceration of one of its citizens. When the Commonwealth deprives a person in their liberty, it exercises one of the most solemn powers entrusted to government. If that power is exercised in error, the consequences are not abstract, they're measured and years lost, family strained, opportunities denied and dignity tested. Justice isn't simply about conviction. It's about correctness. It's about ensuring that our systems, investigative, prosecutorial and judicial, are guided not only by the pursuit of accountability, but by an unwavering commitment to truth. Today we affirm that liberty matters, due process matters, accuracy matters. And…
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