Entries tagged with “Governor Ralph Northam”
Facts & Research
History of the Death Penalty
,Nov 07, 2022
Closing the Slaughterhouse: The Inside Story of Death Penalty Abolition in Virginia
Virginia made history in 2021 when it became the first Southern state to abolish the death penalty. Closing the Slaughterhouse: The Inside Story of Death Penalty Abolition in Virginia tells the story of the commonwealth’s journey from leading executioner to groundbreaking abolitionist state. Written by journalist, author, and anti-death penalty advocate Dale Brumfield, the book explores Virginia’s history surrounding capital punishment, starting with…
Policy Issues
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 Hairston Jr., Howard Hairston, James Luther Hairston, Joe Henry Hampton, Booker T. Millner, and John Clabon Taylor — were interrogated by police…
Facts & Research
History of the Death Penalty
,Recent Legislative Activity
,Mar 24, 2021
Virginia Becomes 23rd State and the First in the South to Abolish the Death Penalty
Saying “[t]here is no place today for the death penalty in this commonwealth, in the South, or in this nation,” Governor Ralph Northam (pictured) signed historic legislation making Virginia the 23rd U.S. state and the first in the South to abolish capital…
Facts & Research
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 pass the Senate bill or vice versa, even though the bill text was identical. Governor Northam has pledged to sign the bill, which will make Virginia the 23rd state, and the first in the South, to abolish capital…
Policy Issues
Race
,Recent Legislative Activity
,Religion
,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 death…
Facts & Research
History of the Death Penalty
,Public Opinion
,Recent Legislative Activity
,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 and resentence the two men on death row to life without parole. On February 3, 2021, the Virginia State Senate voted along party lines, 21 – 17, in favor of abolishing capital punishment. Two days later, three Republicans joined all but one Democrat in…
Facts & Research
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 resentence the two men on death row to life without…