It’s a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people in its history than any other state. Virginia’s new Democratic majority pushed the repeal effort, arguing that the death penalty has been applied disproportionately to people of color, the mentally ill and the indigent. Since 2017 she had dedicated energy to abolishing the death penalty. He drew a comparison to recently approved mandatory minimums for littering with removing a mandatory death sentence. She and others are hopeful that the Biden administration will be receptive to their efforts to outlaw the death penalty at the federal level, and she said she’ll be there to help.

RICHMOND, Va. – Efforts to end the death penalty in Virginia are moving forward in the General Assembly. “To me, it seems like an unjust system,” said Rachel Sutphin, who supports abolishing the death penalty. Removing the death penalty from Virginia is something she’s been pushing for since the Commonwealth’s most recent execution of William Morva in 2017. On the other side, the Virginia State Police Association is encouraging lawmakers to keep the death penalty as an option for more heinous crimes. Fifty-six percent of Virginia voters support repealing the death penalty, according to a new poll from Christopher Newport University released Tuesday,

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. - Wednesday marks 13 years to the day since Montgomery County Cpl. Eric Sutphin was killed during a manhunt. In 2006, William Morva escaped while being treated at the hospital and shot and killed security guard Derrick McFarland. Sutphin was killed while trying to take down Morva. Sutphin left behind a wife and twin daughters.