Project Exile

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This article is about a United States federal program. For the unreleased video game, see Project Exile (game).

Project Exile was a controversial federal program started in Richmond, Virginia in 1997. Project Exile shifted the prosecution of illegal technical gun possession offenses to federal court, where they carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, rather than in state court.

The program was since copied by several other cities, sometimes under other names. In Atlanta for example the program was known as FACE 5 (Firearms in Atlanta Can Equal 5 years in federal prison).

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Brady Campaign were both early and vocal supporters of Project Exile, as were federal and city officials who claimed that Project Exile helped to reduce firearm-related violence in Richmond by 40 percent. The NRA lobbied the U.S. Congress to help secure $2.3 million for emulation of Exile in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden County, New Jersey where similar firearms-related violence has plagued the communities.

Opposing Project Exile was a coalition consisting of every other pro-gun rights group in the U.S. besides the NRA. A "Project Exile Condemnation Petition" [1] was launched by Brian Puckett of GunTruths.com, Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America, Angel Shamaya of KeepAndBearArms.com, and former NRA director Russ Howard. Other prominent opponents who were members of this anti-Exile coalition included Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Harry Browne, and sci-fi writer L. Neil Smith.

From the left, Project Exile was condemned by Families Against Mandatory Minimums [2], and opposed by several members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the grounds that in targeting its enforcement at inner city communities such as in Richmond and Atlanta, and the disproportionate effects the federal gun laws' "prohibited possessor" categories have on African-Americans, Project Exile was racist. In testifying against the reliance on federal mandatory minimum sentences in general, U.S. Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) noted that Richmond had a smaller drop in crime during the period Exile was in effect than did Norfolk, which did not have Exile. [3]

The program was designed to address gang violence which had long plagued Richmond. At the time of its inception, the level of murders and shootings had regularly increased each year, with Richmond ranking in the top five murder-per-capita rates for the country.

Project Exile was named for the idea that if the police catch a criminal in Richmond with a gun in a crime, the criminal has forfeited his right to remain in this community, the criminal will face immediate federal prosecution and stiff mandatory federal prison sentences (often five years), and will be "exiled" to federal prison for five years.

Within the first year (1997-1998) Project Exile resulted in:

372 persons indicted for Federal gun violations.
440 illegally possessed guns seized.
300 persons arrested or held in State custody.
222 arrestees (more than 74 percent) held without bond.
247 persons convicted.
196 persons sentenced to an average of 55 months of imprisonment.

An extensive public outreach and media campaign to educate citizens about lengthy Federal prison sentences for gun crimes and to maximize deterrence was also a critical component of Project Exile.

Project Exile, which was confined to Richmond and surrounding areas, has since been supplanted by Virginia Exile, the Commonwealth's statewide program which carries bail restrictions and imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in a Virginia prison for those who:

have a prior conviction for a violent felony and are convicted of possessing a firearm;
are convicted of possessing a firearm on school property with the intent to use it, or displaying it in a threatening manner;
are convicted of possessing a firearm and Schedule I or II drugs such as cocaine or heroin, or convicted of possessing more than a pound of marijuana with the intent to sell.

[edit] Rationale

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The way that the "exile" element in the program works is that is supposed to prevent career criminals from networking in local prisons.

Some have criticized this point by claiming that local criminals are likely to form more far reaching networks in Federal prison and be more organized when they return to their hometown after their sentencing.

Observations have shown that repeat offenders often think nothing of taking a loaded gun with them wherever they go, they are the most likely to criminally misuse firearms and the most likely to be prohibited from possessing them in the first place since they often have prior criminal histories.

Illegal possession charges are also easy to prove in court and help pad the conviction rates of federal prosecutors.

By removing repeat offenders from a community for a period of time, the criminal class is expected to be younger on average and less experienced in the ways of criminal violence, thereby reducing the chance for gangs to grow stronger. This is because all organizations (including gangs) benefit from institutional memory in having experienced leaders. By removing the more experienced leaders, the gangs often have to start over again and rebuild their operations from scratch.