». The Story of
Mad, Death Penalty
Abolition tn
Virginia
Virginians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty (VADP)
Michael Stone
February 15, 2023
Virginia & the Death
_. Penalty
° Virginia executed 113
people since 1976, third
most in the United States.
Virginia executed the highest percentage of
those sentenced to death (75%) in the U.S.
Virginia was fastest in the nation from
sentencing to execution (7.1 years on
average).
Prior to 1976 the race of the perpetrator
most often determined who received a death
sentence. Since then, the race of the victim
wiac tha nrimary factnr
S
ett tea’
VADP Establi hed in 1991
™,
On November 9, 1991 a steering committee of 13
people gathered and VIRGINIANS AGAINST STATE
KILLING was formed. Three years later changed the
name to VIRGINIANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE
DEATH PENALTY.
A 1989 Virginia survey found support for the death
penalty dropped by half to a minority when given
the alternative of life, with no possibility of parole for
a minimum of 25 years combined with restitution to
Pr ay Distinct Eras in VADP
VIRGINIANS FOR
ALTERNATIVES History
TO THE DEATH PENALTY
¢ Public protests against large numbers of
executions.
* Opposition to legislation to add more & more
crimes to the criminal code eligible for the death
penalty.
* Key success in preserving the “triggerman rule.”
* Defeated repeated attempts to expand death
penalty.
* Expansion advocates gave up, no expansion bills
introduced. Discouraged allies from introducing
abolition bills that would be laughed out of
committee on first day of GA session.
* Advocacy for SMI exemption to death penalty
Lessons Learned from
Legislators
* Some Democrats strongly support DP
and some Republicans support abolition.
* Be strategic in who advocates for
abolition with a legislator. Story froma
Republican opponent of abolition.
Local Republican leader said that 10% of party
activists strongly support the death penalty.
Another 25% quietly oppose the death penalty,
but most don’t care.
Another Republican said that he had never had a
constituent contact him in favor of the death
penalty in past ten years.
Generational differences in legislator attitudes
toward “tough on crime” attitudes and the death
en
Key Factor # 1: Capital
Defender Offices
* General Assembly study ordered
in 2002 about Virginia system of
defense of indigent defendants.
Regional Capital Representation offices
established in 2004 to provide trial defense
in capital cases.
Indigent defendants suddenly received top-
notch legal presentation plus investigators &
mitigation specialists.
Death sentences dropped over 90% and the
last death sentence was imposed in 2011.
Key Factor # 2: Expanded Staff
Capacity
* Virginia legislative coalition had
a significant gap - no staffing to
organize grassroots support in
key legislative districts.
Two Catholic religious orders provided
funding that allowed VADP to hire a full-time
Field Director in 2017.
Dale Brumfield worked to build grassroots
conservative support in key legislative
districts for three years.
As political developments shifted, Dale’s
work was adjusted to focus on areas of
nroaatact naan
Key Factor # 3: Unusual Allies
* Jerry Givens, former chief
executioner in Virginia, became an
outspoken opponent of the death
penalty. He testified at the General
: Assembly and spoke to the public
* Young & artijadateeaiarder victim family members
like Rachel Sutphin & Linell Patterson spoke to
the public and to the media about their
experiences. 21 victim family members called on
the legislature to abolish capital punishment.
* Eighteen people convicted of murder in Virginia
since 1989 were exonerated. Several urged an
end the death penalty.
* Conservative leaders were key to a 2017
campaign to grant clemency to Ivan Teleguz.
a! Se ee Ae ee es Se (Ce oe ee (ee a Se Beene ec oas |
Daughter of a slain sheriff’s deputy
For ten years | was plagued by the
uncertainty around the trial and
appeals, repeatedly forced to
relive the worst day of my life.
penalty to be an ineffective,
outdated punishment. The
execution brought no solace to
me, but, instead, it strengthened
my resolve that the death
penalty needs to be abolished.
It is time for the death penalty to
be abolished in order to better
care for the victim’s family
members, to better serve the
public good, and to protect
18 people convicted of murder in Virginia
have been exonerated since 1989
PP <
David Boyce
ve dentist
Michael Hash
Key Factor # 4: Reform
Prosecutors
* In the 2017 and 2019 state
elections, a group of reform
prosecutors won election in
Commonwealth Attorney races
across the state of Virginia.
* |hese Commonwealth Attorneys created
Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice as
a counterweight to the Virginia Association of
Commonwealth Attorneys.
¢ They endorsed many criminal justice reform
measures.
* Twelve Commonwealth Attorneys who
together represent nearly 50% of the state’s
population endorsed death penalty abolition
Key Factor # 5: Racial Justice
Reform
* The police murder of George Floyd &
resulting BLM protests across Virginia
made criminal justice reforms a much
higher priority for state legislators.
Worked to educate legislators that death
penalty abolition was an important racial
justice issue.
Our partnership with Virginia Interfaith
Center for Public Policy & new justice
Rev.
reform organizer was a_ key in mobilizing _ Lakeisha
black clergy for DP abolition. Cook, VICPP
Justice
Reform
Faith leader petition and prayer vigils at Organizer
ayaciitinn & Ihynching citac qot attantinn
A New Era in Virginia
** Virginia used to sentence 5-10 people
to death and execute as many as 14
people in one year.
* The last death sentence was in
September 2011.
" No jury had imposed a death
sentence in any of the 3,000+
homicide cases in the ten years
before the legislature abolished
capital punishment.
** Death penalty abolition included
racantancing the two hlack man on
Virginians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty
http://www.vadp.org/
Ending the Death
oe: Penalty through
Education,
VIRGINIANS FOR _:
ALTERNATIVES [aehcoubicoi
TO THE DEATH PENALTY Advocacy
