Virginia Attorney General stops in Southside

By Bernard Baker

Published: August 7, 2008

Attorney General Bob McDonnell made a campaign swing through the Danville area Wednesday and Thursday to talk about his accomplishments as he gears up for the 2009 state elections.

He met with Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor and Commonwealth’s Attorney David Grimes on Thursday.

McDonnell said he agrees with legislation sponsored by Delegate Donald Merricks, R-Pittsylvania County, that would allow the county to form a regional jail to combat overcrowding.

“My inclination is to support that,” he said.

McDonnell said Virginia has improved its ability to combat Internet crimes such as child pornography and identity theft.

“Generally, we’ve caught up but it has taken 10 years,” he said.

McDonnell said it has been tough coming up with laws that work, but don’t infringe on people’s First Amendment rights.

He praised his Internet task force’s ability to create reforms to make cyberspace safer and its support of tougher sentences for online crime.

McDonnell said $400,000 has been raised for education programs in schools.

In some cases, children know more about the Internet than their parents.

Children need to know they should not meet someone at the mall if they talked to them in a chat room, the attorney general said, noting the person could be a 30-year-old sex offender.

Virginia has roughly 14,500 registered sex offenders.

McDonnell said the state has worked with the federal government to make the Internet safer.

“We have asked the federal government to give us the e-mail addresses of convicted sex offenders as a part of their sentence,” he said.

As far as the abolition of the parole program in Virginia, McDonnell said prisoners serve an average of 92 percent of their time.

He predicts Virginia will need to build $300 million in new prisons. McDonnell said he believes parole abolition has reduced violent crime by at least 20 percent and it has taken violent offenders off the street so they can’t commit additional crimes.

When asked how he would respond to the possibility of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine becoming the next vice president, McDonnell said that a lot of things would have to happen for that scenario to play out.

If it did happen, McDonnell said he and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling would find a way to work things out.

McDonnell said he doesn’t want to see a contentious Republican contest to fill the governor’s seat.

• Contact Bernard Baker at or (434) 791-7986.