Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday signed a invoice into legislation that severely restricts using attack-trained patrol canines in state prisons after the laws garnered widespread bipartisan help within the within the Virginia legislature.
The transfer comes after a Enterprise Insider investigation final 12 months revealed that Virginia prisons use attack-trained canines excess of another state or commonwealth. Jail canines attacked 271 incarcerated folks in Virginia between 2017 and 2022, BI beforehand reported. The state with the second most assaults — Arizona — recorded 15 incidents in the identical time interval.
Each Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Virginia credited BI with bringing the abusive apply to gentle.
The legislation goals to considerably curb the deployment of patrol canines in attacking prisoners besides when “instantly crucial” to forestall the “risk of great bodily harm or loss of life” of prisoners or workers.
A warden or different supervisor should now grant permission for the canines for use to intervene in a combat, and any combat during which they’re used should now contain no less than three prisoners.
The modifications come after BI reported that patrol canines have been incessantly utilized in Virginia to assault males who would not depart their cells or who grew to become concerned in one-on-one altercations.
Seven different states additionally use canines to assault prisoners, resulting in devastating accidents in some circumstances, BI reported.
A minimum of 18 incarcerated males in Virginia have acquired emergency hospital take care of accidents starting from muscle and tissue harm to septic infections on account of canine assaults since 2017. Others instructed BI that they suffered psychological trauma following their assaults.
Youngkin signed the laws this week after it handed Virginia’s Home of Delegates with an 82-15 vote and acquired unanimous help within the state’s senate final month.
The invoice was certainly one of 60 that Younkin took closing motion on this week, signing 36 into legislation, providing amendments to 2, and vetoing one other 22.
“At present, I am happy to signal bipartisan payments into legislation, together with laws that may assist financial improvement in Southwest Virginia Coal Nation, put cheap restrictions on using canines in corrections amenities, make it simpler for Virginians to prosecute violations of their protecting orders, and enhance the supply of providers to Virginians with improvement disabilities by permitting them extra time to work with help coordinators to search out the appropriate supplier,” Youngkin stated in a press launch.
