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State And Federal Info

Virginia

History of the Death Penalty

Executions in Virginia were carried out by hanging for 300 years, until the first electrocution in 1908. The last execution by hanging occurred on April 9, 1909.

In the modern era of capital punishment, Virginia has executed a higher percentage of its death-row prisoners than any other state. That high percentage was the combined product of poor defense representation and the most draconian procedural rules in the country, under which defendants were denied any judicial review of legal claims that their lawyers failed to raise at the right time or in the right manner, even when through no fault of the defendant a lawyer missed a filing deadline. After the state began instructing juries in the late 1990s that defendants sentenced to life imprisonment would never be eligible for parole, and then created regional capital defender offices in 2002-2003 to represent most capital defendants at trial, death sentences in the state significantly declined. No death sentences have been imposed by Virginia juries since 2011.

On February 3, 2021, the Virginia state senate voted to abolish the commonwealth’s death penalty. The state House of Delegates followed suit on February 5. The General Assembly must reconcile language differences between the two proposals before a repeal bill can be sent to the Governor for his signature. Gov. Ralph Northam has indicated that he will sign the repeal bill. If that happens, Virginia will become the first state of the former Confederacy to abolish the death penalty.

Famous Cases

“DC sniper”: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were both tried in Virginia for a series of shootings in October 2002. Although the crimes occurred in Maryland and Washington, DC, as well as Virginia, the first trials were held in Virginia, in part, because Virginia allowed the execution of juveniles. Malvo was 17 at the time of the crimes. Muhammad was executed on November 10, 2009. Malvo is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Daryl Atkins was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of Eric Nesbitt. Atkins appealed his sentence, claiming that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. Atkins’ appeal was heard by the Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), and the Court held that the execution of “mentally retarded” defendants is unconstitutional. At a subsequent hearing to determine whether Atkins was eligible for the death penalty, the jury credited controversial prosecution evidence and rejected Atkins’ claim of intellectual disability. However, after it was disclosed that evidence had been improperly withheld from the defense in the case, the prosecution agreed to withdraw the death penalty and Atkins was resentenced to life without parole.

Notable Exonerations

Earl Washington was pardoned in 2000 after DNA evidence excluded him as a perpetrator in the rape and murder for which he had been sentenced to death. Washington is intellectually disabled, and had been coerced into confessing to the crime.

Virginia “Firsts”

The first execution in what is now the United States took place in Virginia. Captain George Kendall was executed in the Jamestown colony in 1608 for spying for Spain.

Other Interesting Facts

Virginia has executed more people in its history than any other state.

On February 2, 1951, 5 inmates were executed, the largest number of executions carried out on a single day in Virginia. The executions were part of the case of the “Martinsville 7,” seven African American men charged with having raped a white woman. Historians believe that least five of the men were innocent. After giving coerced confessions, the men were convicted and sentenced to death by all-white male juries in perfunctory trials that lasted less than one day each. The other members of the Martinsville 7 were executed on February 5, 1951.

The Martinsville 7 case illustrates Virginia’s historically discriminatory use of the death penalty. From 1900 until the U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1977 for crimes in which no one was killed, Virginia executed 73 Black defendants for rape, attempted, or armed robbery that did not result in death, while no White defendants were executed for those crimes.

Virginia Executions in the 20th Century (by Race)

Decade

Total Executions

Murder

Rape

Attempted Rape

Armed Robbery

W

B

All

W

B

All

W

B

All

W

B

All

W

B

All

1900-1909

14

73

87

14

55*

69

0

9

9

0

9

9

0

0

0

1910-1919

11

69

80

11

47

58

0

12

12

0

6*

6

0

4*

4

1920-1929

4

41

45

4

31

35

0

6

6

0

4

4

0

0

0

1930-1939

5

23

28

5

19

24

0

3

3

0

0

0

0

1

1

1940-1949

7

28

35

7

19

26

0

8*

8

0

1

1

0

0

0

1950-1959

3

20

23

3

11

14

0

9

9

0

0

0

0

0

0

1960-1969

2

4

6

2

3

5

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1970-1979

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1980-1989

2

6

8

2

6

8

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1990-1999

31

32

65*

31

32

65*

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

79

296

377

79

223

304

0

48

48

0

20

20

0

5

5

*In the decade of the 1900s, one man listed under murder was executed as an accessory to murder. In the 1910s, one man listed under attempted rape was executed for highway robbery and attempted rape and one listed under armed robbery was executed for highway robbery. In the 1940s, one man listed under rape was executed for rape and robbery. In the 1990s, two Latino men were executed for murder.

Sources: For executions between 1900 and 1907 and executions by hanging in 1908 and 1909— Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File, Executions by State. For other executions between 1908 and 1972 — Bureau of Records, Virginia State Penitentiary, Electrocutions Performed at Virginia State Penitentiary (undated), in Capital Punishment in Virginia, 58 Va. L. Rev. 97, 142 (1972). For executions between 1972 and 1999 — Death Penalty Information Center, Execution Database.

Great Falls National Park.  Photo by Kenneth England.
Great Falls National Park. Photo by Kenneth England.

Resources

  • Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
  • American Bar Association Virginia Death Penalty Assessment Report
  • Department of Corrections
  • Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center
  • Victims’ services
  • Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Services Counsel
  • Public defender’s office

Virginia Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Recent Legislative Activity

Feb 24, 2021

Virginia Death Penalty Repeal Bill Gains Final Legislative Approval, Moves to Governor’s Desk

Death-penal­ty repeal leg­is­la­tion in Virginia will move to Governor Ralph Northam’s desk, after both hous­es approved the bill passed ear­li­er in the ses­sion in the oppo­site cham­ber. Virginia’s leg­isla­tive rules required the House of Delegates to pas…

Virginia Death Penalty Repeal Bill Gains Final Legislative Approval, Moves to Governor’s Desk

History of the Death Penalty

Feb 05, 2021

Virginia Legislature Votes to Abolish the Death Penalty

With two his­toric votes, the Virginia General Assembly has moved the com­mon­wealth to the cusp of becom­ing the first Southern state to abol­ish cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, approv­ing sep­a­rate bills that would end the state’s death penal­ty an…

Virginia Legislature Votes to Abolish the Death Penalty

Recent Legislative Activity

Feb 04, 2021

Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Virginia Senate moved the com­mon­wealth one step clos­er to becom­ing the first Southern state to abol­ish cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, vot­ing 21 – 17 on February 3, 2021 to approve a bill that would end the state’s death penal­ty and resente…

Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty

Race

Jan 25, 2021

Death Penalty Opponents Hold Vigils at Virginia Lynching Sites in Push for Abolition

As the Virginia General Assembly con­sid­ers leg­is­la­tion to abol­ish the death penal­ty, oppo­nents of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment gath­ered at lynch­ing sites across the state to empha­size the his­tor­i­cal link between lynch­ings and exe­cu­tions. G…

Death Penalty Opponents Hold Vigils at Virginia Lynching Sites in Push for Abolition

Race

Jan 21, 2021

New Podcast: ‘Martinsville 7’ Advocates Seek Posthumous Pardon for 7 Black Men Executed by Virginia After All-White Jury Convicted Them of Raping a White Woman

In February 1951, Virginia exe­cut­ed sev­en Black men on charges they had raped a white woman two years ear­li­er. The ​“Martinsville 7” — Francis DeSales Grayson, Frank Hairst…

New Podcast: ‘Martinsville 7’ Advocates Seek Posthumous Pardon for 7 Black Men Executed by Virginia After All-White Jury Convicted Them of Raping a White Woman

Race

Jan 15, 2021

Virginia Legislators Poised to Attempt Death Penalty Repeal as Governor Sponsors Abolition Bill

Legislators in the Virginia House and Senate are poised to attempt a repeal of its cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment statute, as Governor Ralph Northam (pic­tured) announced that he would spon­sor a bill to end the commonwealth’s …

Virginia Legislators Poised to Attempt Death Penalty Repeal as Governor Sponsors Abolition Bill

Arbitrariness

Oct 05, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of September 28, 2020

NEWS (10/​1/​20) — Washington, D.C.: The fed­er­al gov­ern­ment has sched­uled an eighth exe­cu­tion for 2020, set­ting a November 19 exe­cu­tion date for 

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of September 28, 2020

Race

Aug 17, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of August 10, 2020

NEWS (8/​14/​20) — Alabama: The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed a low­er court rul­ing grant­i­ng a new tri­al to death-row pris­on­er Ste…

Race

Jul 29, 2020

Commentary: Repealing Death Penalty ‘Essential to Racial Healing’ in Virginia

Recent police and vig­i­lante killings of Black Americans have ignit­ed a nation­al call for sys­temic reform of law enforce­ment across the coun­try, high­light­ing the link between extra­ju­di­cial abuse of force and wide­spread dis­crim­i­na­to­ry appli­ca­tion of…

Commentary: Repealing Death Penalty ‘Essential to Racial Healing’ in Virginia

Arbitrariness

Jun 13, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of June 8, 2020

NEWS (6/​11/​20) — Florida: The Florida Supreme Court applied new cas­es that retroac­tive­ly changed the law regard­ing claims of intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty and the uncon­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of death sen­tences imposed after non-unan­i­mous jury votes for …

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stories

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of September 28, 2020

View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 113
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 1277
  • Current Death Row Population: 2
  • Women on Death Row: 0
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 1
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 10
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): October 1, 1975
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 1982
  • Location of Death Row: Sussex I State Prison, Waverly
  • Location of Executions: Greensville Correctional Facility, Jarratt
  • Capital: Richmond
  • Region: South
  • Population: 8,001,024
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 5.3
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: No
  • Method of Execution: Choice of Injection or Execution
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Ralph Northam

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