Virginia lawmakers have the opportunity to act creatively to make changes that not only save money, but contribute to the well-being of communities across the commonwealth.

Virginia is already on a good path. It has the lowest recidivism rate in the nation — 22.4 percent.

According to Virginia Parole Board Chair Adrianne Bennett, “When it comes to recidivism for paroled felons, that number drops to 5 percent in Virginia. And when just looking at discretionary parolees, it’s only 1 percent.”

One low-hanging fruit for further criminal justice reform is to parole more elderly inmates.

There are currently 125,000 elderly prisoners incarcerated in the United States — at a cost of $16 billion per year. Without dramatic changes in sentencing and parole policies, that number could grow to 400,000 by 2030 — at a cost of more than $50 billion per year.

According to the Center for Justice at Columbia University, the cost of incarcerating someone age 50 or older is two to five times the cost of incarcerating someone 49 or younger.