Junior Wolfe (District 52)

Please provide some basic information about yourself.

Name Junior Wolfe

Office Sought Delegate, District 52

City/Town Bruceton Mills

From 1980 to 2016 the West Virginia state prison population has increased by 470%. What, if anything, would you change to reverse this trend?

Decriminalize use of marijuana, seek to end three strikes and your out law, explore other treatment programs for drug addicts that treat them as patients instead of prisoners. Increase funding for re-entry programs to help lower recidivism rates.

Civil asset forfeiture is a process where police can seize any property "related" to criminal activity and later can file a civil case to forfeit the property to either be used or auctioned for money which is shared between the police department and local prosecutor. This can happen regardless of whether there is a criminal conviction or even criminal charges brought against a person.Proponents say this is a useful tool for taking ill-gotten gains from criminals and funding police work, and that legal protections adequately prevent abuse of the system.Critics say the system amounts to theft, that many people cannot afford the legal costs to challenge a forfeiture action, and that it creates a perverse incentive for police.Do you support or oppose the practice of civil asset forfeiture? What, if any, reforms would you make to the practice?

I would only support it in the case of a criminal conviction. I would want to see a high bar for determining that the property was related to the criminal activity the criminal was convicted of. I don't believe that leaving a person or his or her family destitute is a good way to prevent future crime or repeat offences.

More than half the population of West Virginia's regional jails are pre-trial. That means they haven't been found guilty of any crime yet. Most are there because they could not afford bail, though some are there because they were denied a chance to post bail. What changes, if any would you make to our pretrial and/or bail system to balance concerns about safety and court efficiency with ensuring we are not incarcerating people without due process?

Well, we have got to get the "speedy trial" concept put into action. I would suggest getting the stakeholders, judges, lawyers, involved in reorganizing or expanding the court systems to allow these cases to be adjudicated as quickly as possible while maintaining the defendant's rights. Decriminalizing drug abuse would greatly unload the system of cases. Judges need the authority to release more persons charged with minor crimes, "victimless"crimes, without bail as long as they have no record of violent criminal behavior.

In 2015 West Virginia passed significant reforms to the juvenile justice system. Despite these reforms, the State still utilizes out of home placement at a high rate for system-involved youth. What, if anything, should West Virginia do to reduce out-of-home placements for system-involved juveniles?

I think providing more counseling for children and parents early in the process before the situation reaches the point where the child or children have to be removed from the home might help. We definitely need many more social workers in the system. This is a tough one, but we are obviously doing something wrong when a state with 1.8 million people has 7,000 of its children in foster care. The stakeholders need to be brought together and let them come up with ideas for solutions, they will do a much better job than a bunch of politicians in Charleston.

West Virginia has a very low voter participation rate. What changes, if any, would you make to increase voter participation?

Make it easier to register: automatic registration with driver's license renewal. Make it easier to vote if secure means can be insured to allow voting on line or through the mail. An incentives program where you get a deduction on your state taxes for voting.

Over the past few years, there has been legislation aimed at requiring the Bible to be taught in public schools, allowing a Bible-based elective, or faith-based drug prevention electives. What is your stance on incorporating religion into the public schools?

I believe religion is something the framers of the Constitution clearly meant the state to have no involvement in. The men who wrote our constitution saw the mess that mixing religion and government made in Europe and did not want to see that repeated in the US. Religion must be the responsibility of the family and taught at home and in the church selected by the family, not in a state run school.

At least 20 states have passed laws prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 13 West Virginia municipalities have similar protections. Do you support or oppose a statewide law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in West Virginia? Why?

I strongly support such a statewide law. I do not believe sexual orientation or or gender identity should play any part in providing fair, equal and just rights and access to any of the blessings that our society has to offer.

In December 2019, Governor Justice announced that West Virginia would continue accepting refugees. Do you support or oppose accepting refugees in West Virginia? Under what conditions? Why?

Yes, I support accepting refugees. It is consistent with my moral, ethical and Christian beliefs to provide sanctuary to the homeless and persecuted. If the refugees are people fleeing oppression or persecution, then we should offer them shelter. I repeat, we should do this because it is the moral, ethical and Christian thing to do.

Q10

Over the past few years, some states have continued to erode protections and access to abortion care. Other states have done the opposite and codified abortion rights that had previously been defined by courts. Do you favor further restrictions to abortion, expanding or codifying abortion rights, or taking no action on abortion?

I am not at all happy that there are over 800,000 abortions in the US each year and that the vast majority of these are for birth control reasons. I think it is ridiculous that that many women allow them selves to get pregnant and have to resort to this practice that is so potentially amoral, so divisive and so potentially dangerous to their health. Having said that, I think the decision to end a pregnancy should be made by the woman, her doctor and her God.