Virginia moves toward banning capital punishment, in a shift for prolific death penalty state
By
Laura Vozzella and
Gregory S. Schneider
Jan. 23, 2021 at 4:11 p.m. CST
RICHMOND — Virginia, a state that has executed more prisoners than any other in the country, appears poised to eliminate the death penalty — a seismic shift for the state legislature, which just five years ago looked to the electric chair and secret pharmaceutical deals to keep the ultimate punishment alive.
The former capital of the Confederacy would become the first Southern state to abolish capital punishment if a bill on track to pass the Senate gets out of the House and over to the desk of Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has promised to sign it.
A ban in Virginia could help sweep in change across the South, according to experts who say racial disparities in the death penalty’s application have roots in the region’s history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation.
“Just as Confederate monuments are being dismantled, this vestige of Confederate law is also facing dismantling,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. “That historical context is a central part of the repeal. And repeal offers a real opportunity for racial healing.”
mORE:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virgina-death-penalty/2021/01/23/5d51d21a-5c02-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html