DEATH PENALTY

Ralph Northam signed legislation Wednesday that abolishes the death penalty in Virginia. “The death penalty system is fundamentally flawed—it is inequitable, ineffective, and it has no place in this Commonwealth or this country. I will continue to push legislation in the Senate to end the death penalty at the federal level. The death penalty no longer reflects Virginia’s values. — Eileen Filler-Corn (@EFillerCorn) March 24, 2021More reactions will be added as Virginia lawmakers and leaders publicly share their thoughts on the situation.

Ralph Northam will sign legislation on Wednesday abolishing the death penalty in Virginia. He will sign the bill while at the Greensville Correctional Center, after touring the facility’s death chamber. In modern times, the state is second only to Texas in the number of executions it has carried out, with 113 since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Last month, Virginia’s new Democratic majority won a yearslong battle when both the Senate and House of Delegates approved bills to end capital punishment. AdVirginia has become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty.

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia moved another step closer to ending capital punishment on Friday when the state House joined the Senate in voting to abolish the death penalty. It’s a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state. Democrats favoring abolishment said the death penalty is an archaic punishment in an era when many countries have already moved away from the practice, and too costly to implement, given the litigation involved. In modern times, Virginia trails only Texas in the number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Last year, death penalty abolition bills in the General Assembly went nowhere.

Virginia continues on the path of possibly getting rid of the death penalty. The Virginia Senate has passed Senate Bill 1165 that would abolish the death penalty. The Democrat-controlled Senate chamber approved the bill on a 21-17 vote Wednesday after a lengthy, emotional floor debate. The House Courts of Justice Committee approved the bill in a 15-6-1 vote. Ad“For me it’s incumbent that we abolish the death penalty because now the state is actually operating in secret, she said.

RICHMOND Va. – The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would abolish the death penalty. If passed into law, the measure would mark a major policy change for a state that has historically carried out numerous executions. The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill on a 21-17 vote Wednesday. Ralph Northam has said he supports a full repeal, and a House version of the bill is advancing in that chamber. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Virginia has executed nearly 1,400 people in more than four centuries, more than any other state.

RICHMOND, Va. – Efforts to end the death penalty in Virginia are moving forward in the General Assembly. “To me, it seems like an unjust system,” said Rachel Sutphin, who supports abolishing the death penalty. Removing the death penalty from Virginia is something she’s been pushing for since the Commonwealth’s most recent execution of William Morva in 2017. On the other side, the Virginia State Police Association is encouraging lawmakers to keep the death penalty as an option for more heinous crimes. Fifty-six percent of Virginia voters support repealing the death penalty, according to a new poll from Christopher Newport University released Tuesday,

ROANOKE, Va. – More than a dozen people gathered in Roanoke on Friday, pushing to end the death penalty in the Commonwealth. Five prayer vigils were held in different locations across Virginia, including one in Roanoke’s Wasena Park. Organizers said that the death penalty has deep roots in racism and lynchings, two of which happened in Roanoke in the 1800s. Speakers and attendees at the Roanoke vigil read the names of 47 lynching victims in Southwest Virginia and placed paper boats in the river in their honor. One speaker said she hopes that a proposed bill to get rid of the death penalty passes the General Assembly.

Northam outlines key principles he'd like to see in a marijuana legalization billVirginia’s 2021 legislative session is underway and among the expected issues to be discussed Gov. Ralph Northam will be looking to make a major change to the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system. Northam will push to end the death penalty in Virginia, something Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring supports. “It is time for Virginia to end the death penalty and I will support Governor Northam’s efforts to make it happen this year. Other major issues they are set to address this year include COVID-19 relief efforts and legalizing marijuana.