Fatima Smith, an advocate for victims of sexual abuse, remembers something important her mother once told her.
“My mom told me an obnoxious amount of times, ‘if someone, anyone touches you or hurts you, tell me. I don’t care if it’s your father, uncle, just tell me.”
But Smith says that after her cheerleading coach used house keys she forgot in his car to enter her home, then her room where she awoke to him touching her, she “didn’t say anything for almost a year later.” “I loved cheerleading. I loved my coach. This bad thing happened,” she recalls. “But I didn’t know if I really wanted to say anything.”
Virginia lawmakers advance bills eliminating mandatory minimums The Virginia State Capitol. (Source: Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) By Aaron Royce | Capital News Service | February 5, 2021 at 7:59 PM EST - Updated February 5 at 9:56 PM
RICHMOND, Va. Lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly advanced criminal justice reform measures that would eliminate mandatory minimums in favor of allowing judges more sentencing discretion.
Senate Bill 1443, introduced by Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, narrowly passed Friday on a 21-17 vote.
The bill proposes to eliminate mandatory minimum prison sentences in Virginia for various crimes, including aggravated involuntary manslaughter, child pornography and violating a protective order for abuse victims. The legislation does not include Class 1 felonies such as willful and deliberate murder.
Mandatory minimum bills advance from Virginia House, Senate lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“We all know somebody,” said executive director of Avalon, Theresa Cristin. “If it hasn’t happened to you personally, then you do know somebody who’s suffered through family violence or sexual assault."