The Death Penalty
in Virginia
February 11, 2020
Church of the Epiphany
Richmond, VA
Executions by State Since 1608
Historical Leaders in Executions Since 1608
Using information contained in the "Espy File" together with current information, the states in the United States that have
executed 700 or more prisoners since 1608 are as follows:
Espy File DPIC Total
1608 - 1972 1976 - Present 1608 - Present
1. Virginia 1,277 111 1,388
2. Texas 758 538 1,293
Ss. New York 1,130 0 1,130
4. Pennsylvania 1,040 3 1,043
5. Georgia 950 69 1,019
\6. North Carolina 784 43 827
|7. Alabama 708 58 766
|8. California 709 13 722
* Executions as of December 31, 2016
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [November 1, 2018]
Virginia & the Death Penalty
Hanging was the predominant
execution method before 1909.
Other methods were used — three
people convicted of piracy in 1700
were gibbeted, four pirates were
hanged in chains in 1720, and a
female slave was burned in 1737.
From 1910 until 1994, the electric
chair was used for all executions.
Lethal injection and the electric chair
are existing execution methods.
A Legacy of Lynchings
Medium
eee
aoe et ,
aa ue, MAP OF VIRGINIA’S a
a LYNCHING HISTORY
© wer fa aT NR when you sign up for
= Total of 91 documented lynchings in Virginia. More were never documented.
= Lynchings occurred in at least 50 localities in Virginia.
= Most localities had just one or two lynchings; however,
o Alleghany County had four, Danville five and Tazewell County had ten.
Virginia’s Anti-Lynching Law of 1928
Lynching in the a From 1880 to 1930 at least
New South 90 black men in Virginia
Georgia and Virginia, 1880-1930 were lynched.
¢ Law rooted in concern that
mob violence was a threat
to attract business &
industry.
¢ No white person was ever
convicted of lynching an
African-American.
Public Executions
_ Roanoke's racial climate was typical in the South.
"During this era, both lynchings and executions
typically drew large crowds of spectators," said
Ted DeLaney, associate professor of history at
Washington and Lee University. "There were
executions and lynchings in other parts of the
South that drew crowds as large as 3,000.
Sometimes public schools would close so children
could be present."
— "Roanoke's last public execution," Roanoke Times
(June 14, 2007)
Modern Death Penalty Era
e U.S. Supreme Court outlawed capital
punishment in 1972 (Furman v. Georgia)
— Inconsistent application of the DP
— Racial disparities in the DP
¢ Revised state laws approved by the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1976 (Gregg v. Georgia)
— Implemented two stage trail process
— Aggravating & mitigating factors
Death Penalty States
Ra
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
29
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wyoming
U.S. Government
U.S. Military
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [September 1 2019]
Death Penalty States (blue)
Executions by State Since 1976
As of September 1, 2019
Mississippi 21
Indiana 20
Delaware 16
California 13
Illinois 12
Nevada 12
Tennessee 11
Utah 7
Maryland 5
Washington 5
Nebraska 4
South Dakota 4
Idaho 3
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [September 1, 2019]
States With Most Executions (red)
Geography of the Death Penalty
South 1212
Midwest
West
Northeast
TX & OK
*Federal executions afe listed in the region in
which the crime was committed.
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Fact Sheet [November 1, 2018]
Geography of the Death Penalty
Top 16 Counties by Executions Since 1976,
Not Including Texas
#11 Prince William County - 9
terfield County - 8 #11 New Castle - 9
2
——!
ony
| ‘Oklahoma County - 38
oe
mu =
#5 Maricopa County - 11
#5 Pima County - 11
#7 Miami-Dade County - 10
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Fact Sheet [November 1, 2018]
Executions by Race Since 1976
Race Number Percentage
Black
508 34.5%
Latino 124 8.3%
White 829 55.6%
Other 24 16%
NOTE: The federal government counts some
categories, such as Hispanics, as an ethnic
group rather than a race. DPIC refers to all
groups as races because the sources for much
of our information use these categories.
Race Number Percentage
Black
333 15.3%
Latino 150 6.9%
White 1646, 75.6%
Other 46 2.3%
@ Black
Persons Executed for Interracial Murders
288
20
White Def./ —_ Black Def./
Black Victim — White Victim
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [November 1, 2018]
Death Row Prisoners by State
As of April 1, 2019
U.S. Government 61
Mississippi 45
Oklahoma 47
South Carolina 38
Kentucky 31
Oregon 32
Arkansas 32
Missouri 24
Nebraska 12
Kansas 10
Indiana 9
Idaho 8
SOURCE: Criminal Justice Project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
"Death Row USA," Spring 2019.
Updated: November 5, 2018
NUMBER OF EXECUTIONS
SINCE 1976: 1485
‘76'77'78'79'80 81 '82'83 84 '85'86 87 '88'89 90'91'92'93'94'95 96 9798 99 00°01 '02'03'04 05 '06 07 (08 '09'10'11 12131415 16117 18
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [November 1 2018]
New DEATH SENTENCES 1973 - 2017
10-Year Average
(aa
/ 2
DEATH PENALTY
DP
a INFORMATION CENTER
21 States have abolished
the death penalty
Michigan 1846 lowa 1965 New Mexico 2009
Wisconsin 1853 West Virginia 1965 Illinois 2011
Maine 1887 North Dakota 1973 Connecticut 2012
Minnesota | 1911 Massachusetts 1984 Maryland 2013
Alaska 1957 Rhode Island 1984 Delaware 2016
Hawaii 1957 New Jersey 2007 Washington 2018
Vermont 1964 New York 2007 New Hampshire 2019
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [September 1, 2019].
10 more states have had no
executions in the past ten years
California 2006
Colorado 1997 Nevada 2006
Kansas 1965 North Carolina 2006
Kentucky 2008 Oregon 1997
Montana 2006 Pennsylvania 1999
Wyoming 1992
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [September 1, 2019].
Virginia & the Death Penalty
° Virginia has executed 113
people since 1976, second
most in the United States.
¢ Virginia executes the highest percentage of
those sentenced to death (75%) in the U.S.
¢ Virginia is fastest in the nation from
sentencing to execution (6.2 years on
average).
In Virginia it’s easier to take
a person's liberty or life
than their property:
¢ In civil lawsuits, both sides must turn over
virtually everything to the opponent and sit
for pretrial depositions.
Criminal defendants are not entitled to
the police reports in their case, the
witness statements against them or even
a witness list.
Virginia Executions Since 1976
by Local Jurisdiction
Number of Executions
1976-2018
[Jo Mis
: is
iz Mis
ms: >
|
Botetourt
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center web site [March 1, 2019]
There are 18 Virginia jurisdictions
that have never had an execution.
COUNTIES: CITIES: CITIES:
Dickenson County Emporia Manassas
Floyd County Falls Church Manassas Park
Franklin Norton
INDEPENDENT Fredericksburg Poquoson
CITIES: Galax Salem
Colonial Heights Harrisonburg Suffolk
Covington Lexington Waynesboro
SOURCES:
Death Penalty Information Center
<https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/views-executions>
Death Penalty USA, Virginia Executions 1901-1962
<https://deathpenaltyusa.org/usa1/state/virginiaS.htm>
There are 32 more Virginia jurisdictions
with no execution in 100+ years.
Amelia County Greensville County Rockingham County
Bath County Hanover County Russell County
Buckingham County Highland County Shenandoah County
Carroll County King & Queen County Stafford County
Charlotte County Lancaster County Sussex County
Clarke County Louisa County Tazewell County
Craig County Mathews County Westmoreland Co
Cumberland County New Kent County Wythe County
Essex County Northumberland Co
Giles County Pulaski County Bristol city
Grayson County Rappahannock Co Buena Vista city
SOURCES:
Death Penalty Information Center
<https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/views-executions>
Death Penalty USA, Virginia Executions 1901-1962
<https://deathpenaltyusa.org/usa1/state/virginiaS.htm>
Death Penalty
Disparities in Virginia:
65% of the 133 political jurisdictions in the
Commonwealth have NOT had an execution since 1976.
* Three jurisdictions [Chesterfield, Prince William, &
Virginia Beach] are responsible for 23% of executions.
¢ Seven jurisdictions [Chesterfield, Fairfax, Hampton,
Pittsylvania, Portsmouth, Prince William, & Virginia
Beach] account for 41% of the state’s executions.
SOURCE: Death Penalty Information Center Web Site [May 19, 2016].
The Problem of Innocence
Lee ° Since 1973, 166 people have
been released from death row
with evidence of their innocence.
¢ Many others have been executed
while serious doubts have been
raised regarding their verdict.
¢ Since 1976, there is a ratio of one
| innocent person freed from
een death row for every 9 executions!
I C INFORMATION CENTER
Earl Washington
es Wrongfully convicted of
murder and rape in 1984
Sentence was commuted
to life in prison 9 days
before his scheduled
execution in 1994
Granted an absolute
pardon on October 2,
2000
VIRGINIANS FOR
/ ALTERNATIVES
TO THE DEATH PENALTY
18 people convicted of murder in Virginia
have been exonerated since 1989
On March 6, 1986, a jury in Newport News convicted
me of murder, robbery, burglary and rape. | was
sentenced to life in prison.
The key evidence against me was a coerced witness
identification and testimony by two forensic
experts who said that | was the only person who
could have left the bite mark on the rape victim.
In 2015, DNA tests excluded me as the source of the biological evidence.
An investigation showed that the lab analyst eliminated as the source
of the evidence. The analyst’s bench notes of his testing actually
excluded me. Those notes were never given to my defense attorney.
— Keith Harward
18 people convicted of murder in Virginia
have been exonerated since 1989
Collateral Damage
Human cost of the death penalty
Few people consider the impact of capital punishment on
a wide range of people who are part of the system:
— Victim family members
— Prosecutors
— Defense attorneys
— Judges and jurors
— Family members of death row inmates
— Wardens and corrections officers
— Executioners
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.
| have experienced the death 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 human life.
— Rachel Sutphin
J
rder victim family members
Former Virginia Executioner
! worked as a prison guard saving lives most of
the time. But when | took on the role of
executioner, | had to become a Killer. ...
The Earl Washington case [who was exonerated
by DNA evidence in 1993] shook my faith in
the justice system. | came within days of
putting an innocent man to death.
| still wonder whether there were any innocents among the 62 that |
executed. The only thing | can do is pray to God to forgive me if | did.
— “Ex-Virginia executioner becomes opponent of death
penalty,” Washington Post (February 10, 2013)
Attorneys Fighting to Save
the Lives of Their Clients
Former Attorney General
Opposes the Death Penalty
“1 supported the death penalty for all of my
public life — as a Virginia State Senator, Attorney
General, and Republican candidate for governor.
Today, | can still make a conceptual argument as
to why it should be a tool in the arsenal of a
prosecutor — but it is just an argument. And, to
me, the argument is tired, strained, and no
longer defensible.”
— Mark Earley, a Republican former Virginia
Attorney General who oversaw 36 executions
Conservative Republican State Senator
Opposes the Death Penalty
“We do not have the power
our Creator has to take life.
We do not have the ability,
morally, legally or otherwise.”
— Sen. Bill Stanley, a Republican state
legislator who represents southside
Virginia
A New Era in Virginia
“+ Virginia used to sentence 5-10 people to death and
execute as many as 14 people in one year.
= Only four executions in the past five years.
=" No new death sentence in over 8 years.
** The last death sentence was in September 2011.
= There have been nearly 3,000 murders in Virginia
since then.
= No jury has imposed a death sentence in any of
those cases.
Virginians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty
http://www.vadp.org/
Pr 0%
VIRGINIANS FOR
ALTERNATIVES
TO THE DEATH PENALTY
Ending the Death
Penalty through
Education,
Organizing &
Advocacy
