The ruling could have major implications for hundreds of others incarcerated in Virginia prisons.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The Supreme Court of Virginia has ordered the state Department of Corrections to release Steven Prease from Dillwyn Correctional Center, ruling that he shouldn’t have been denied earned sentence credits after a last-minute budget change last year.
Under Virginia’s earned sentence credit program, incarcerated people can shorten their sentences with good behavior and rehabilitation programs. A law passed in 2020 increased how many credits some can earn, with restrictions for certain violent crimes.
But two weeks before it took effect in July 2022, lawmakers approved a budget change from Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) making those with mixed sentences – convictions for violent and nonviolent crimes – ineligible.
The ACLU of Virginia filed cases on behalf of two incarcerated men, Antoine Anderson and Prease, challenging the department’s interpretation of the law and seeking their immediate release. In April, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear both cases.
The order to release Prease — which came down Thursday — could have major implications for hundreds of others incarcerated in Virginia prisons who believe they earned enough credits to be released.
The Virginia Department of Corrections estimated last June that the change would impact more than 500 people who expected to be released last summer after earning enough credits.
The ACLU of Virginia – which said Prease “will be released as soon as possible” – issued a statement after Thursday’s decision applauding the ruling but saying the group would continue to work to get others released.
“Prolonging his incarceration would have eliminated any incentive for self-improvement, and done nothing to improve public safety. Everyone deserves a second chance, and those who have earned their release – like Mr. Prease – should get it,” ACLU of Virginia Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar said in a statement.
“But Mr. Prease is not alone: there are hundreds, if not thousands more who were told by VDOC that they had earned an earlier release, only to be told later that they did not qualify based on an obviously incorrect interpretation of the law that the Supreme Court has now rejected,” Agraharkar added.
Prease’s case against the Department of Corrections Director Harold Clarke and the warden of the Dillwyn Correctional Center was filed directly to the state Supreme Court.
Prease was convicted in November 2013 and received a 14-year sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated murder of a police officer and two other charges.
According to the petition, Prease is a military veteran who served in Afghanistan for 18 months and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Prease has sought treatment for his PTSD and has taken classes in computer literacy, economics and more while incarcerated.
The petition to the high court argued that the department initially planned on awarding Prease enhanced good time credits based on an opinion from former Attorney General Mark Herring.
But the department changed course, the petition alleged, after getting a new opinion from Attorney General Jason Miyares that concluded people convicted of attempting such crimes were not eligible to earn the expanded earned sentence credits.
“Petitioner’s interpretation, under which solicitation to commit murder would be ineligible for enhanced credits but attempts to murder would be eligible, is not a reasonable one and is not compelled by the text of the statute,” the department and warden wrote in a motion to dismiss the case.
Lawyers for the ACLU of Virginia disputed that argument in a subsequent court filing, writing that the respondents were seeking “to achieve a desired policy outcome that runs counter to the intent of the statute.”
On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that Prease was eligible to earn sentence credits for his attempted aggravated murder convictions and ordered that the Department of Corrections release him from custody.
In an opinion by Justice Cleo E. Powell, the high court concluded that “it would appear that there is no basis in the governing statutes for denying Prease expanded earned sentence credits on his attempted aggravated murder convictions.”
“I am disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision, but it is the law and we will comply with it. The Democrats forced through this dangerous legislation in 2020,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement. “Now, violent felons like Mr. Prease —who tried to murder two police officers— will be released back on the streets before they’ve served their full sentences. I will work with the Governor and the leaders of the General Assembly to fix this problem that the radical left created before it gets any worse.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said it was “processing” 8News’ request for a comment on the decision but did not share one as of Thursday evening.
“Under the current law, dangerous criminals are getting an early release from prison,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a statement. “The law was hastily adopted in 2020 by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, and today’s ruling indicates there’s much more work to be done to ensure violent criminals serve their full sentence and pay their full debt to society for their crimes.”
Update: The story was updated to include the statement from Youngkin’s office, which came after publication.
