The Virginia Parole Board last year granted parole in less than 4 percent of the cases it considered. Even old men – prisoners in their 70s and 80s who have served decades behind bars – were routinely denied parole.

About 12 years ago, Michael Maupin lost his right to vote in Virginia because of a felony drug conviction. But Maupin has hope for the future because he just received a letter from Gov. Bob McDonnell restoring his civil rights.

For the past two years, the Virginia Parole Board has granted less than 4 percent of the cases it has heard.

There are more than 400 dogs in the Virginia Dangerous Dogs Registry, a list of animals that have attacked someone or hurt or killed another dog or cat.

Virginia already has a registry for “dangerous dogs” – animals that have attacked other pets or people. So how about having a registry for people who abuse animals? That’s what some animal welfare advocates would like.

Rubicon Inc., a substance abuse and mental health treatment center that has served the Richmond community for more than 40 years, is trying to regain its financial footing after nearly having to close its doors last fall.

Human trafficking survivors and support groups are speaking out and working with state legislators to combat the problem of human trafficking in Virginia.

Elisabeth Corey has repressed memories of the abuse she suffered at the hands of family members while growing up in Northern Virginia. She’s a survivor of family-controlled sex trafficking and endured sexual abuse from male family members.

In 2010, Josh Bailey and his wife, Andrea, founded the Gray Haven Project. The organization helps human trafficking survivors rebuild their lives.

Here are charts and tables about human trafficking in Virginia and the United States.

To curb the sale of stolen property, pawnshops soon will keep a photo of people who sell the stores items. And pawnbrokers will be prohibited from receiving or re-selling goods if the original serial number has been altered or changed in some way.

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday proposed amending legislation to put a moratorium on the use of drone technology in Virginia until 2015. McDonnell’s suggested amendments to House Bill 2012 and Senate Bill 1331 would allow for drone research at college and universities and would let law enforcement officials use drones for certain tasks, such as search and rescue.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved at least six bills and proposed revisions to at least three others aimed at improving school security and creating a safe campus environment.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed into law legislation to expand the list of prohibited chemicals used in making synthetic marijuana and other designer drugs. McDonnell announced Wednesday that he had signed House Bill 1941, which included an emergency clause making it effective immediately.

Calls for stricter gun laws after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December did not persuade the Virginia General Assembly to pass such legislation during its 2013 session.

Wrongly convicted felons could have an easier pathway to proving their innocence thanks to passage of a bill amending Virginia’s “21-day rule.”

Because of false information, Marvin Anderson spent 15 years in prison for a rape and other crimes that he did not commit. He recounted his ordeal Tuesday at a Black History Month lecture at VCU.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is urging state legislators to approve recommendations from his School and Campus Safety Task Force that would increase sentences for illegally buying guns, require mandatory lockdown drills at schools and establish more comprehensive suicide prevention programs.

A Virginia prison inmate seeking a sex-change operation won a legal victory Monday when a federal appeals panel ordered a lower court to hear the case.

Virginia’s General Assembly is also focused on preventing campus shootings like the one at Virginia Tech, but gun control is only one segment of the issue.

Vice President Joe Biden held a round-table discussion about gun violence Friday at Virginia Commonwealth University, saying “we cannot remain silent” on the issue.

While Virginia Commonwealth University isn’t the center of the gun debate triggered by December’s school shootings in Connecticut, Vice President Joe Biden got VCU’s help Friday in continuing the national dialogue on the matter.

A Senate subcommittee tied 3-3 Tuesday on proposed constitutional amendments to restore the voting rights of nonviolent felons who’ve completed their sentences.

The Virginia House of Delegates voted 66-28 today to confirm the permanent appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland as a judge of Richmond’s Manchester General District Court. He is the first openly gay judge to serve in Virginia.

Delegate Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg gave Gov. Bob McDonnell a standing ovation when he announced his support for restoring the voting rights of nonviolent felons during his State of the Commonwealth address this week.

Virginia Democrats slammed state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Tuesday for refusing to support reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act.

Thomas Haynesworth spent 27 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit. He was exonerated last December, and the General Assembly voted to award him more than a $1 million in relief. Is that sufficient compensation for an innocent man locked up for nearly three decades?

Twenty-seven states and Washington D.C., have laws to compensate people who have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated.

Like other states, Virginia has strict age limits to buy cigarettes and alcohol. But young people often have little trouble purchasing those products: About one of every eight stores inspected by the state sells tobacco and booze to underage buyers.

Jessica Wood understands better than most how easy it is for minors to purchase alcohol and tobacco in Virginia. When she was 15, she had an unusual part-time job – helping undercover agents bust retailers who sell such products to minors.

You soon will face state fines and criminal charges if you buy large quantities of cigarettes in Virginia intending to resell them in a state with a higher tobacco tax. Beginning July 1, a new state law targets people “who possesses, with intent to distribute, more than 5,000 (25 cartons) tax-paid cigarettes.”

A state law that takes effect July 1 makes it a crime to point a laser at an aircraft. Laser strikes are dangerous because they can temporarily blind the pilot and cause a crash. There were 98 laser strikes in Virginia last year.

Virginia treats marijuana possession more harshly than many other states, handing down years-long prison sentences to people arrested with small amounts of the substance. Neighboring states have decriminalized marijuana or approved it for medicinal uses, but Virginia legislators this year hardly gave serious consideration to such ideas.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli kicked off National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with a press conference featuring a former football player who had been sexually abused as a teenager and a man who spent decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Proponents of a “castle doctrine” law for Virginia say it would not condone killings like the death of Trayvon Martin, the teenager gunned down by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida.

A Richmond man who spent nearly three decades wrongfully incarcerated in prison will receive more than $1 million in restitution under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Twenty people have been arrested in Virginia and 20 others elsewhere in an undercover investigation targeting online child predators and child pornographers, officials announced today.

Hundreds of citizens gathered at Virginia Commonwealth University last week for a demonstration in honor of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager whose killing has prompted a national debate over guns and self-defense laws.

A state legislator is asking Gov. Bob McDonnell to add the designer drug 25i to the list of chemical compounds that would be outlawed under a bill recently passed by the General Assembly.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed legislation to expedite funeral-related payments to the families of law enforcement officers and other first responders killed in the line of duty. “This common-sense measure will provide financial security and relief to those families faced with the loss of one of Virginia’s public safety heroes who has made the ultimate sacrifice,” McDonnell said.

Two weeks ago, a vehicle VCU sophomore Carolina Perez was in was struck at the intersection of Second and Canal streets. Perez, who sat at the point of impact in the accident, died later that morning. Varinder “Vick” Chahal, the driver of the other car, had no injuries; neither did his four passengers. Chahal is facing charges of felony manslaughter, driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a blood or breath test.

Campus police officers across Virginia frequently put their lives at risk, just like members of any city, county or state police force. But in the eyes of the law, campus police are not considered law enforcement officers. A bill passed by the General Assembly would change this.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed legislation that will require first-time DUI offenders in Virginia to install a Breathalyzer in their vehicle to prevent them from driving while intoxicated. The governor signed House Bill 279 on Wednesday. As a result, beginning July 1, all Virginians convicted of DUI will have to have an ignition interlock installed in their vehicle. Currently, that requirement applies only to repeat offenders.

A measure authorizing prosecutors to charge repeat juvenile offenders as adults for drug-related crimes passed the Senate on a 26-14 vote Thursday. House Bill 718, sponsored by Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, would enable commonwealth’s attorneys to transfer jurisdiction of juveniles 14 or older to the circuit courts if the youth is charged with a third felony offense of distributing, selling or manufacturing an illegal substance.

The House of Delegates has restored funding for Alicia’s Law, a two-year-old effort targeting sexual abuse of children, after Democrats said Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposed state budget shortchanged the program. McDonnell planned to transfer $1.3 million from the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, a police unit created by Alicia’s Law, to the state’s general fund. But in a unanimous vote Thursday, the House approved restoration of the ICAC funding.

Prince William County officials are upset that a Senate committee has defeated Delegate Richard Anderson’s bill requiring police to ask arrestees whether they are legal U.S. residents. House Bill 1060, which had passed the House earlier in February, failed on a 7-7 vote last week in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

Opponents of drunken driving are applauding the Senate for passing a bill to require even first-time DUI offenders in Virginia to install a device to prevent them from operating their vehicle while intoxicated. The Senate approved House Bill 279 on a 26-13 vote Wednesday. It would require Virginia drivers to have an ignition interlock installed after their first DUI offense. Currently, the devices are required only after a second or subsequent DUI conviction.

Local jails and regional prisons in Virginia can continue to shackle female inmates during childbirth – a practice that Delegate Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, says is appalling. Hope sponsored a bill this legislative session to prohibit the shackling of women prisoners while in labor or giving birth. However, the bill is dead for this session after failing to make it out of a subcommittee last week.

Legislators and medical experts are concerned about the rising use of synthetic drugs known as “bath salts,” which cause a cocaine-like high – and in rare instances can cause death.

The Virginia House of Delegates has advanced a bill that would make a broader range of criminals eligible for the death penalty. House Bill 389, proposed by Delegate Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, would redefine the “triggerman” rule in murder cases. The term “triggerman” refers strictly to the direct perpetrators of homicide, according to the current state law.