RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers have squashed a proposal to repeal a decades-old Virginia law that allows the state to hold certain sex offenders at a psychiatric facility after they complete their criminal sentences.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to send the bill to the Virginia State Crime Commission for a study, ending its chances of being passed this year.
Democratic Sen. Joe Morrissey was the lead patron of the bill. He argued that the current system is unfair and punishes offenders twice for the same crime.
But the bill faced strong opposition from Republicans and opponents who said the current law is needed to protect society from offenders who have been deemed “sexually violent predators.”
