RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) – State lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to legislation that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its long history than any other.
Legislation revoking the death penalty now goes to Democratic Governor Ralph Northam, who said he would sanction it, making Virginia the 23rd state to prevent executions.
“There is a perception that it is time to end this outdated practice that tends to do more harm to the victims’ family members than to provide us with any comfort or consolation,” said Rachel Sutphin, whose father, Cpl. Eric Sutphin was shot dead in 2006 while working for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
William Morva, the man convicted of Eric Sutphin’s murder, was executed in 2017. Two years later, Rachel Sutphin was one of 13 relatives of murder victims who sent a letter to the General Assembly asking lawmakers to abolish the death penalty.
“By voting for abolition, we are showing the way, that if Virginia – the state with the longest history and the largest number of people executed – we can do it, so can other states,” said Rachel Sutphin.
Virginia’s new Democratic majority, with full control of the General Assembly for the second year, pushed for the repeal effort, arguing that the death penalty was applied disproportionately to people of color, the mentally ill and destitute.
“It is vital that our criminal justice system operates fairly and punishes people fairly. We all know that the death penalty does not do that. It is unfair, ineffective and inhuman, ”said Northam, House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, in a joint statement after the votes.
Republicans raised concerns about justice for victims and their families and said there are some crimes so heinous that the perpetrators deserve to be executed.
Only two men remain on death row in Virginia. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death in 2004 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, two of his children and his brother. Thomas Porter was sentenced to death for the murder of a Norfolk police officer in 2005. Repealing the legislation would convert his sentences to life in prison without parole.
During the debate on the House floor on Monday, Republican Del. Rob Bell described these deaths in horrible detail, and said that Porter and Juniper would be watching the prison vote with special interest.
“We have five Virginians killed that this project will ensure that their killers do not receive justice,” said Bell.
Porter, Juniper and their families declined to comment through their attorney, Rob Lee, executive director of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center.
“By eliminating the death penalty, government, political and moral leaders took long-needed action to make Virginia a more just and just community,” Lee said in a statement.
The passing of the legislation was just the latest in a long list of comprehensive policy changes enacted by Democrats, which have increasingly reshaped o Old Domain in an outlier in the South on racial, social and economic issues.
Last year, lawmakers passed some of the region’s most stringent gun laws, broader LGBTQ protections, its highest minimum wage and some of its most flexible abortion restrictions. Also this year, legislators have approved one progressive measure after another.
But the death penalty bill marks a particularly sharp reversal in a state where executions have taken place over the past decade under Republican and Democratic governors. The state legislature and state officials have also acted in recent years to preserve Virginia’s ability to carry out executions and limit transparency around the process.
Even last year, plans to abolish the death penalty at the General Assembly went nowhere.
On Monday, both chambers approved separate, but identical, repeal projects. The Senate passed a House bill, advancing to Northam by 22 to 16 votes. Republican Senator Jill Vogel joined Democrats in the House to vote for approval. Later on Monday, House Democrats and two Republican Party members, Del. Jeff Campbell and Del. Carrie Coyner, voted to pass the Senate version 57-43.
There is still no set date for the governor’s signature, according to his spokesman.
Historically, Virginia has used the death penalty more than any other state, executing nearly 1,400 people since its days as a colony, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Virginia, with 113 executions, has been second only to Texas.
Michael Stone, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to Death Penalty, called the vote to abolish the death penalty a milestone in state history.
“We hope that Virginia will be an example for other states in the former Confederation to take this bold step towards human reform of our legal justice system,” said Stone.