The Death Penalty And Its Effects On - amazonia.fiocruz.br

AP — The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would abolish the death penalty, a measure that if passed into law would mark a major policy change for a state that over its centuries-long history has led the nation in the number of executions it has carried out.

Efdects The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill The Death Penalty And Its Effects On a vote that split along party lines and was seen as a key hurdle for the measure. Advocates now expect the House version of the bill to easily clear that chamber, and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said he supports the legislation. Democrats raised concerns about the racial disparities in the application of the death penalty and pointed to research that shows it does not deter crime. GOP Sen. Bill Stanley, who had initially co-patroned the measure, angrily spoke against it after Democrats a day earlier rejected attempts from Republicans to amend the bill, including changes Stanley proposed that he said would have guaranteed that people convicted of aggravated murder would never leave prison.

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He ultimately did not vote. Republican Sen. He described the brutal crimes committed by two men formerly on death row: Ivan Teleguzconvicted in of hiring a man to kill the mother of his child, and Ricky Graywho was convicted of killing a family of four, slashing their throats and setting their home ablaze in Teleguz had his sentence commuted to life without parole in ; Gray was executed the same year.

Virginia has executed nearly 1, people in more than four centuries, more than any other state, according article source the Death Penalty Information Center. In modern times, Virginia is second only to Texas in the number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in But executions have slowed in Virginia in recent years — the last inmate put to death was William Morva in — and no death sentences have been imposed in the state since Only two men remain on death row.

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The Senate bill would commute their sentences to life without parole. Democratic Del. Mike Mullin, who is a prosecutor, is carrying the House version of the legislation. It advanced out of a committee Wednesday on a bipartisan vote of with one abstention.

If the bill is passed into law, Virginia would become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, according to a recent report from the Death Penalty Information Center. Northam said in a statement that it was time for Virginia to take that step.

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Virginia Senate passes death penalty abolition bill. State Sen. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.]