Listen 5 min

       Share

       Add to your saved stories

       Save

       Hamilton Swart III said he was ecstatic when he was told in 2022 he was going to be released early from a Virginia prison after earning enhanced sentencing credits for good behavior under a new state law. Swart lined up a job and his cousin spent $5,000 renovating a room for him.

       Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. ArrowRight

       But just weeks before his anticipated release, Virginia’s new Republican Attorney General, Jason S. Miyares, found Swart and many other inmates did not qualify for the relief in a controversial legal opinion. Swart, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, ended up serving another year before he was released in July 2023.

       Earlier this month, Swart sued Miyares and the state’s former head of corrections, Harold Clarke, alleging Miyares’s legal rationale for denying him the relief was politically motivated and that Miyares and Clarke were “deliberately indifferent” to Swart’s plight. Swart is seeking damages in what could be the first of a number of lawsuits.

       Advertisement

       “It broke my heart,” Swart said of losing his early release. “It broke my family’s heart.”

       Swart, 63, was convicted of attempted aggravated murder and other counts, following a police chase in which he said he crashed into a law enforcement cruiser in Fredericksburg in 2009. He pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors.

       A spokeswoman for Miyares declined to comment on the lawsuit since the litigation is pending, but Miyares and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) had previously opposed the sentence relief because they felt it could increase crime and improperly gave that benefit to some violent felons. Clarke and the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) did not respond to requests for comment.

       Victims’ advocates said many victims were apprehensive about the early releases, particularly of the most serious crimes.

       Advertisement

       Swart’s lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled this summer that Miyares’s denial of early release in the case of another inmate with a similar conviction was flawed, opening the door to challenges by current and former inmates.

       The ACLU of Virginia had sued on behalf of Steven Patrick Prease, who was serving a 14-year sentence for attempted aggravated murder, arguing he had been improperly denied the enhanced sentencing credit. The state Supreme Court sided with Prease, rejecting Miyares’s opinion that the new law barred people with convictions for attempted crimes from receiving the relief.

       Va. Supreme Court says state improperly held inmate

       Last year, Youngkin also moved to curtail the number of felons who qualified for the enhanced sentencing credit by taking action in a budget amendment. The state Supreme Court recently ruled against a lawsuit challenging that move. Youngkin and Miyares have promised to crack down on crime in the state.

       Advertisement

       It’s unclear how many people have been affected by Miyares’s and Youngkin’s actions, but the VADOC had previously estimated at least 550 inmates had their early releases delayed. The actual number could be far higher.

       Share this article Share

       The new law increased the maximum number of days an inmate could earn off their sentence from 4.5 days a month to 15 days, and it was expected to affect the sentences of 3,200 inmates before Youngkin’s and Miyares’s actions. The law was intended to act as a motivator to encourage inmates to participate in education, drug counseling and other rehabilitation programs.

       Families of prisoners and advocates for criminal justice reform have blasted the moves by Youngkin and Miyares. Many prisoners, like Swart, were notified their early releases were being rescinded just weeks before release dates, upsetting plans.

       Advertisement

       Jeff Fogel, an attorney for Swart, said Miyares had voted against the new law enhancing sentencing credits as a legislator before he was attorney general.

       “We believe his opinion was dictated more by his ideology than his knowledge of the law,” Fogel said.

       Vishal Agraharkar, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Virginia who represented Prease, wrote in an email that VADOC has released several people who had the same convictions as Prease in the wake of the state Supreme Court ruling, but has denied some petitions of inmates who were convicted of attempted crimes.

       Agraharkar said the VADOC has not given out figures for how many people have been released in light of the ruling and the department did not respond to a request for those numbers. Agraharkar said he’s been frustrated by the pace of releases. He recently filed petitions on behalf of two other clients to try to get them out.

       Advertisement

       “This should not be a matter that needs to be decided case by case,” Agraharkar wrote. “Virginia should do the right thing; apply the Prease decision to everyone whose conviction is not excluded by the statute.”

       Swart, who has been living in Manassas with a relative since his release, said he has been searching for a job, but so far he has not been able to replace the ones he had previously lined up. He also regrets not being able to attend family events during the final year he was incarcerated.

       “I missed a lot of things,” Swart said. “I missed my grandkids’ graduations.”

       Share

       Loading...