Legislation on its way to Gov. Tim Kaine’s desk would expand Virginia’s death penalty and test the convictions of the governor.
The bill, which sailed through the House earlier this month and the Senate on Wednesday, would repeal the commonwealth’s “triggerman rule,” which allows only the person who inflicted the fatal wound to be executed for murder. Although a few exceptions to the rule exist, such as terrorism and murder-for-hire cases.
Supporters say the change is necessary because in some murder cases prosecutors cannot determine which criminal participant pulled the trigger, leading to no one being sentenced to death.
Kaine has reservations about this legislation. During his 2005 campaign, he said he would enforce the state’s capital murder laws even though he is morally opposed to execution because of his Catholic beliefs.
“We will take a look at it, but we are not convinced of the need for it,” said Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall. “We approach death penalty bills with the view that there is not any crying need to expand Virginia’s death penalty statute.”
The Virginia Crime Commission studied eliminating the triggerman rule last year and recommended in January that lawmakers approve the deletion. Although death penalty bills have always enjoyed legislative support from conservative law-and-order Republicans, this one boasts bipartisan backing.
“The Crime Commission put forward this common-sense reform to strengthen our capital crimes law and deter the most heinous and violent crimes,” said Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, a former Arlington County prosecutor.
But David Bruck, a law professor at Washington & Lee University, thinks Virginia’s execution chambers have been busy enough. Virginia has executed about 100 inmates since restoring the death penalty in 1982, he said, one of the largest numbers of any state in the nation.
“While the rest of the country is restricting the death penalty, Virginia appears to be headed in the opposite direction without much thought or analysis,” said Bruck, who is also director of the Virginia Case Clearinghouse,which offers free law advice to defense attorneys in death penalty cases.
