Patricia Hamilton (District 35)

Please provide some basic information about yourself.

Name Patricia Hamilton

Office Sought House of Delegates, 35th district

City/Town Charleston

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

I have worked on this issue on behalf of counties for 20 years, since counties pay the jail bills. I was also on many task forces and subcommittees of the Committee on Crime, Delinquency, & Corrections (that name may have changed. I was on the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee and a charter member of the Community Corrections Subcommittee. To state the obvious, we need to reduce the number of arrests! The drug addiction problem has added greatly to this increase. We need to provide law enforcement with alternatives to taking arrestees to jail, such as having a magistrate available 24 hours/7 days a week so that bail could be set and/or person released on own recognizance. Bail schedules need to be set for magistrates, although it does limit their discretion. Many arrestees for drug crimes have burned out their family & friends and they will not pay their bail. Every year many bills are introduced & passed that create new felonies and/or increase penalties. Fiscal notes need to be included with these bills because the counties & state will both be paying for it. I think there needs to be recognition that these increased penalties are not a deterrent to crime, particularly drug-related crimes.

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 think civil asset forfeiture can be reformed by increasing the burden to clear & convincing and possibly tie it to felony convictions only. More due process could be added but care must be taken that the person who committed a crime doesn't benefit from the ill-gotten gains or transfer it to a family member for "safe-keeping." It is my understanding that, particularly in drug-dealing crimes, the offender doesn't lay claim to the property because it then becomes evidence. It is a difficult problem and the victims of the crime must be considered as well, but I think reforms can be made.

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?

As I stated in a previous question, a lot of drug-crime offenders have burned out family & friends who want them to stay in jail. That said, we have way too many people in jail for way too long a time who haven't been convicted. Counties pay $48.25/day for people who haven't been convicted of anything. Some counties have discussed that providing treatment might be cheaper than paying for them to be in jail. Bail schedules need to be developed with input from all stakeholders so that the "bail fits the crime" and can be reasonably expected to be paid. I know that many counties are working with their prosecutor and law enforcement to use pre-trial diversion and monitoring the jail bills to try to expedite the proceedings. I would also add that alternative sentencing, drug courts, and community corrections have helped to alleviate jail population for those who have been convicted.

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 do not know a lot about the juvenile justice system and I am not clear if "out of home" means out of state, which was a problem. One of the goals of reform was to limit the use of out of state juvenile placement.

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

It's not just very low, it's abysmal. I worked on initiatives that we thought would increase voter turn-out, such as early voting & early community voting, but they haven't increased voter turnout - just made it more convenient. I represented County Clerks and we had a sort of joke that they could deliver a free pizza with a ballot on top and the person would take the pizza and throw away the ballot! That's how bad the apathy & disinterest have gotten. County Clerks note that as negativity and money has increased in elections, voter disconnect and apathy (my vote doesn't count) has increased. With younger generations, it may go back to the lack of emphasis on civics & government classes in high school. We have many easy ways to register, including online, but a national study by the Census Bureau showed that only 4% of people said they didn't vote because it was hard or they didn't know how to register. I think we will have to continue to make voting convenient and reach out to young people to get registered and vote in ways that appeal to them (it is law that county clerks visit high schools annually to register eligible students - that needs to be followed up with voter education by the schools). We might want to study the states that have voting by mail and adopt that method, but it still doesn't improve the money & negativity in campaigns that turn off voters.

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 think we already have a U.S. Constitution that separates church & state.

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 support inclusivity and non-discrimination and would love to see a statewide law and applaud the cities that have adopted these protections. Why? Because it's the right thing to do and because it is what our younger generations want; it is what companies that look at business sites want. Being inclusive and non-discriminatory would help our population grow.

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?

I don't know a lot about this subject but I am glad that the Governor made this announcement and I support accepting refugees in WV; always have.

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 think this is a private decision between a pregnant woman and her health care provider. I have felt this way since Roe v Wade was decided when I was in college. It is probably one of the saddest decisions a woman has to make, for whatever reason she is considering it.