Earley was born in
Norfolk and graduated from the
College of William and Mary, receiving first an undergraduate degree in religion and later a
J.D. degree. He is married to the former Cynthia Breithaupt and a father of six children. After admission to the Virginia bar, Earley had a private legal practice in Norfolk for fifteen years. Beginning in 1987, Earley represented the
14th Senatorial District in southeast Virginia for a decade. He was succeeded by
Randy Forbes, who later won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Virginia's 4th congressional district. He attributes his interest in politics to his two years as a missionary in
Manila, the
Philippines. In 1997, Virginia voters elected Earley
Attorney General. He polled 57.5% of the vote compared to Democratic Party candidate
Bill Dolan of
McLean who garnered 42% of the votes cast. As Attorney General, Earley worked with his predecessor,
James S. Gilmore, who had won election as Governor of Virginia during the same election. He had a mixed record on consumer issues, and also had initiatives against abortion and for youth mentoring during his years in office. In the 2001 gubernatorial election to succeed Gilmore (limited to one term by the state constitution), Earley garnered 47% of the vote, compared to Democrat Mark Warner's 52% of the vote and libertarian W.B. Redpath who received less than 1% of the votes cast. Earley then returned to his general legal practice in Norfolk. From 2002 to 2011, Earley was president of
Prison Fellowship, a prominent
Christian organization founded by former Watergate figure
Charles Colson dedicated to ministry to prison inmates and their families. He garnered media attention in 2015 because of his changed attitudes towards criminal justice issues, now focusing on rehabilitation rather than incarceration, and coming out against the death penalty although he had defended executions as Attorney General. ==References==