Virginia House Delegate Wren Williams (R-Patrick) confirmed on Tuesday that members of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration are opposed to the House Bill (HB) 2252, the legislation he proposed that would allow those released from prison with probational conditions to end their probation period early, following the completion certain conditions that promote reintegration to society.
Williams made the statement on his Tuesday appearance on “The John Fredericks Show,” when he confirmed the reporting by The Virginia Star John Fredericks indicating members of Youngkin’s political team have expressed concerns his support for the legislation would complicate a future presidential campaign.
“This is the American dream. We’re allowing people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they come back out of jail for the crimes that they have committed,” said Williams of his legislation, which he said would “incentivize” rehabilitated prisoners to “be a better person, to be a better human in our society.”
The legislation would allow released prisoners to end their probation period early through completing mental health or substance abuse programs, attaining long term employment, maintaining a permanent address, and obtaining health insurance.
The lawmaker additionally confirmed to Fredericks rumors indicating Youngkin’s allies are seeking to kill or amend the legislation, which narrowly passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly with marginal Republican support, in a bid to keep it from reaching the governor’s desk.
Williams told Fredericks, “these rumblings are causing issues with the bill, and I’d like to see this bill proceed forward without the petty games and politics that surround this type of legislation, which is good legislation for Virginia, good legislation for Virginia citizens, and for ultimately reducing recidivism and taxpayer cost funding to our probation system.”
Fredericks additionally noted that Youngkin expressed support for the contents of the bill, and that Youngkin’s possible successor, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, confirmed she supports the legislation during an appearance on his radio show the previous week.
“Winsome Sears made a full throated endorsement of it on my show a week ago,” said Fredericks. “That’s matter of record. She made a full throated endorsement. She’s running for governor, that’s fine.”
Williams framed the legislation as a logical extension from the First Step Act of 2018, the landmark criminal justice reform accomplished during President Donald Trump’s first term in office, and pointed to similar laws he said were successfully championed in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
He told Fredericks, “This fits right into Trump’s America first, First Step Act agenda. And so to go against that, I don’t think that it is wise or is necessarily a soft on crime approach. This is a totally different standard.”
Watch Williams’ full appearance on “The John Fredericks Show”:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
