Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

RICHMOND, VA, May 29 -- Militant and at times violent protests have erupted across the United States over the incredibly depraved, racist and brutal murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American security officer, by a white policeman in Minneapolis, Minn. Fueling the anger are the Feb. 23 murder near Brunswick, Ga., of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery by two white men while he was jogging through “their” neighborhood, and the March 13 fatal police shooting in Louisville, Ky., of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, killed when officers broke into her apartment under a “no-knock” warrant, without announcing themselves as police. George Floyd was arrested May 25 on suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill, a minor, nonviolent crime. When he allegedly resisted arrest, Office Derek Chauvin, one of four officers on the scene, placed his knee on the prone, handcuffed man’s neck and, according to a probable cause affidavit released today, left it there for m

ALL FOUR RICHMOND MAYORAL CANDIDATES HAVE NOW ENDORSED  THE COMMUNITY PROPOSAL FOR A  9-ACRE SHOCKOE BOTTOM MEMORIAL PARK All four announced candidates for the November 2020 election for mayor of Richmond have now declared their support for the community-generated proposal for a nine-acre Shockoe Bottom Memorial Park.  With his statement today, Mayor Levar Stoney joins longtime memorial park supporter Richmond City Councilwoman Kimberly Gray and more recent supporters attorney Justin Griffin and entertainment promoter Tracey McLean in endorsing the community proposal designed to properly memorialize the downtown district that once was the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. Significantly, Mayor Stoney’s statement includes support for incorporating into the memorial park the three physical elements that make up the proposal: the 3.1-acre African Burial Ground; the 1.7-acre site of Robert Lumpkin’s slave jail, known as the Devil’s Half-Acre; and the two blocks east of the CSX rai

Virginia Department of Corrections COVID-19/Coronavirus Updates or call VDOC information line, 804-887-8484  If you have questions or concerns, please contact us via email at COVID19Inquiries@vadoc.virginia.gov.