| Death
Penalty: |
YES |
| Prohibit
Execution of the Mentally Retarded: |
NO |
| Life
Without Parole: |
YES |
| Minimum
Age to Eligible for the Death Penalty: |
16 (2 juveniles on death row) |
| Number
on Death Row: |
29 |
| Executions
Since 1976: |
83 |
| Race
of Defendants: |
18 white (62%), 11 black (38%), |
| Race
of Victims: |
unknown |
| Racial
Make-up of State Population: |
70% white, 20% black, 5% Hispanic, 4% Asian |
| Innocents
Exonerated: |
YES (1)—Earl Washington was released in 2000 after serving 16 years on death row. |
| Columbia
University Study Rate of Error in Capital Cases: |
18% |
| Murder
Rate: |
6.2 per 100,000 (ranked 22nd out of 51 |
| Governor: |
James S. Gilmore III (R). Elected 1997, term expires 2002., (),
|
| |
 |
| Presidential
Vote: |
53% Bush, 44% Gore, 2% Nader |
| Public
Opinion on the Death Penalty: |
see attached |
| Organizations
Endorsing a Moratorium: |
City of Blacksburg
City of Charlottesville
City of Lexington
Alliance of Baptists, Virginia Chapter Council
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia
Amnesty International, Group 157
Catholic High School
Center for Radical Honesty
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
Charlottesville-Albermarle Bar Association
Church of the Brethren, Virlina District Conference
Church of the Good Shepherd
Church of the Incarnation
Church of the Sacred Heart, Pastoral Council
Common Ground Network for Peace, Justice, and the Environment
Daughters of Wisdom, Southern Region
Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
First Unitarian Church of Richmond
Fredericksburg Free Lance Star
General Strike Collective
Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Bar Association
Little Flower Catholic Worker
Lynchburg News & Advance
Manassas Church of the Brethren
Methodist Federation for Social Action, Virginia Chapter
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) of Virginia
Pax Christi Huddleston
Pax Christi Richmond
Peninsula Peace Education Center
Potomac News
Prince of Peace Catholic Church
Religious Society of Friends, Alexandria Monthly Meeting of Friends at Woodlawn
Religious Society of Friends, Charlottesville Monthly Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Goose Creek Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Herndon Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Maury River Friends Meeting, Lexington
Religious Society of Friends, Quaker Lake Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Richmond Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Roanoke Monthly Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Valley Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends, Virginia Beach Friends Meeting
Richmond Free Press
Richmond Peace Education Center
Roanoke Times
Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Office of Justice and Peace
Roundtable on Poverty
Social Action Linking Together (SALT)
Southwest Virginia Enterprise
Spirituality of the Feminine In Action
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
St. Francis of Assisi Pax Christi
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
St. Jerome Catholic Church, Pastoral Council
St. Jude Catholic Church
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
St. Mary the Mother of God Catholic Church
St. Pius X Catholic Church
State Legislative Black Caucus
Staunton News-Leader
Tidewater Sowers of Justice
Unitarian Universalists in Arlington
United Methodist Church, Virginia Annual Conference
Virginia Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys
Virginia Council of Churches
Virginia Democratic Central Committee
Virginia Democratic Committee
The Virginia Organizing Project
Virginia People of Faith for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Virginian-Pilot
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Warren County Bar Association
|
| Organizations
Working FOR a Moratorium: |
ACLU of Virginia
6 North 6th Street
Suite 400
Richmond, VA 23219
Kent Willis-contact
804-644-8022--(day)
804-649-2733--(fax)
acluva@aol.com
www.members.aol.com/acluva/
Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator
Joan Betz-contact
703-361-8066--(eve)
jbvadp@aol.com
Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator
Henry Heller-contact
804-263-1848-(phone)
Henry@vadp.org
Quaker Lake Friends Meeting*
Rt. 2, Box 112N
Keysville, VA 23947
Tim Lietzke-contact
804-223-4160--(day)
Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center
2421 Ivy Rd. Ste. 301
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Rob Lee-contact
804-817-2970-(day)
804-817-2972-(fax)
Roblee@vcrrc.org
Virginians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty*
P.O. Box 4804
Charlottesville, VA 22905
Henry Heller-contact
804-263-8148-(phone)
804-263-4431-(fax)
mail@vadp.org--e-mail
www.vadp.org
|
| Clemency: |
: The Governor has full authority to grant clemency. The Governor also has the power to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment without the consent of the convict. |
| Who
Decides Sentence: |
Jury |
| Method
of Execution: |
Virginia authorizes both lethal injection and electrocution. Lethal injection is used if the inmate fails to choose |
