Over the last decade, some states have considered reforms to address the consequences of “get tough” justice. The passage of recreational marijuana laws—albeit incorporated across a minority of jurisdictions—is just one popular example. While recent scholarship indicates support for such measures among the public, there is a need for exploration of public views in light of the social unrest of 2020. Additionally, there is a need to understand public views across jurisdictions that are diverse. Accordingly, Virginia stands out as an ideal case study as it is the first state in the South to incorporate or consider a variety of progressive justice reforms. Drawing on a statewide poll conducted in 2021 (N = 1,017), this study explores the extent to which Virginians support recreational marijuana legislation, the repeal of mandatory minimums, and a moratorium on the death penalty. Findings indicate that approval varies by measure and that there are divides in public views, specifically, across socio-demographic dimensions (e.g., political ideology), and also across views about the state of society and willingness to fund the justice system. Implications are discussed.

在过去的十年中，一些州考虑进行改革，以解决“强硬”司法所带来的后果。娱乐性大麻法的通过——尽管只在少数司法管辖区纳入——只是一个流行的例子。虽然最近的学术研究表明公众支持此类措施，但鉴于 2020 年的社会动荡，有必要探索公众的观点。此外，有必要了解不同司法管辖区的公众观点。因此，弗吉尼亚州成为一个理想的案例研究，因为它是南方第一个纳入或考虑各种渐进式司法改革的州。本研究借鉴 2021 年进行的全州民意调查（N  = 1,017），探讨了弗吉尼亚人对娱乐性大麻立法、废除强制性最低限度和暂停死刑的支持程度。调查结果表明，认可程度因衡量标准而异，公众观点也存在分歧，特别是在社会人口维度（例如政治意识形态）方面，以及对社会状况和资助司法系统意愿的看法方面。讨论了影响。