Praises, tears, accolades, and stories of lives renewed are par for the course in a church setting.
But although the venue was a church in Richmond, the occasion was the long-awaited restoration of rights for three Virginians who are among the thousands who have— and will have—their rights restored by Governor McAuliffe.
Although the process is still not automatic, the governor has made it simpler.
“The application form that more serious offenders have had to fill out, to get their rights restored, which is 13 pages long, as of this moment, it is one page,” said Governor McAuliffe.
Governor McAuliffe also touted restoring the rights of more than 5100 ex-offenders so far. They include veteran James Ray, who says he turned to drugs and alcohol after the Vietnam War.
"This is a great day in my life and I never thought I’d see it," said James Ray
Ray says he, like many ex-offenders, was a good person who made bad choices. McAuliffe says Virginia has one of the most restrictive rights restoration processes, and his goal is to reduce recidivism by helping people get a fresh start.
