Top Prosecutor Seeks Alternatives To Jail During Coronavirus

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — In an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Prince William County, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney said Friday it is cooperating with defense attorneys, the county jail and the courts to facilitate the release of nonviolent offenders who do not pose a risk to the public. But the commonwealth's attorney office stressed that it will work to protect the community from people who the office believes pose a threat to public safety.

The office of Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth said it is encouraging the use of alternatives to incarceration, including house arrest, electronic monitoring and supervised pre-trial release, for non-violent offenders who are not seen as a risk to public safety. Removing nonviolent offenders who the office believes do not pose a threat could prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

Ashworth's office said it will oppose the release of persons charged with violent offenses, or sexual offenses, or that otherwise pose a danger to the community.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also is encouraging law enforcement, prosecutors and judges to reconsider arrests and incarcerations and to consider modified sentences due to concerns that jails and prisons could be overrun by the coronavirus.

"We would like to encourage our entire criminal justice system to take this virus very seriously …and protect those vulnerable populations — not only the inmates, but the personnel as well,” Brian Moran, Virginia's secretary of public safety, said Thursday at a coronavirus press briefing in Richmond.

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Nationally, a group of more than two dozen prosecutors are calling on police to cite and release suspects they arrest who pose no physical threat due to the coronavirus. Prosecutors also are asking jailers to release those who cannot afford cash bail and those who are elderly or within six months of finishing their sen­tences.

"A jail is essentially a petri dish. Once the virus gets in there, it could have a devastating effect,” Maryland Public Defender Keith Lotridge told the Washington Post.

The Virginia Department of Corrections said it is using a Pandemic Sanitation Plan to keep inmates and staff safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. The department said in a news release that there have been no cases of coronavirus among inmates and staff at the Virginia prisons.

Ashworth, a Democrat, easily won election in November to serve as commonwealth's attorney, replacing fellow Democrat Paul Ebert who had served as the county’s top prosecutor since 1968. Ebert did not seek re-election.

Ashworth's office will remain open every business day from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. "Our dedicated attorneys and support staff are proud to continue to serve the community in this unprecedented time of crisis," the office said.

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