Most Virginia death penalty expansion bills rejected

Bills to dramatically expand the number of crimes that qualify for the death penalty in Virginia were blocked Monday by a state Senate committee that traditionally passes such measures.

The only measure to pass the Senate Courts of Justice Committee was one expanding the death penalty to those who kill on-duty auxiliary police officers.

Other bills to allow executing murder accomplices and those who kill a variety of first responders were rejected by the panel.

The vote on the accomplice measure was the 1st time in 4 years that the committee rejected a proposal to redefine Virginia's triggerman rule, which allows only the person who does the actual killing to receive the death penalty.

The measure has passed out of that committee and the legislature in each of the last three years but was vetoed by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. Gov. Bob McDonnell has said he would sign it into law if given the chance.

The committee heard testimony against it from Jerry Givens of Henrico, who was Virginia's chief executioner from 1982 through 1999 and presided over 62 executions. He told legislators he came to realize that neither he nor they should have the right to decide who lives or dies.

"Every time we have an execution, they don't have to do these things. ... They don't have to suffer through these things," Givens said of legislators who vote up or down on death penalty bills.

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, switched from his previous votes to oppose the bill, which failed on a 6-9 vote.

The House passed a similar bill earlier this month, but it likely will suffer the same fate when it gets to the Senate committee.

Virginia already executes more inmates than any state besides Texas. Of the 35 death penalty states, 24 allow accomplices to face capital punishment.

A prosecutor and an attorney who defend those on death row also spoke against the measure, saying it could lead to the execution of those who did not share the killer's intent.

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring said giving prosecutors such discretion is a "dangerous slope" that could lead to overzealous prosecutions based largely on the testimony of others involved in the crime.

"The only way that I as a prosecutor can prove that element is through circumstantial evidence at best," said Herring, who has prosecuted death penalty cases and defended them as a private attorney.

Herring's opposition to the death penalty puts him in the minority of Virginia prosecutors. The association representing commonwealth's attorneys supported the measure.

Another proposal that failed would have allowed the death penalty for those who would kill fire marshals, emergency workers, volunteer firefighters and other first responders.

"We've got everybody in here but my landscaper," said a frustrated Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax County.

Legislators balked at such a wide expansion, citing the possible costs, among other things.

Beth Panilaitis, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, argued that such an expansion won't make Virginians any safer and could take away funding for programs that do. She also argued against carving exceptions for victims based on their jobs.

"I think it's dangerous that we're saying that their jobs or their lives are more important than the work of doctors or teachers and social workers and everyone else who serves our community," Panilaitis said.

The only bill to make it out of the committee would allow capital punishment for those who kill auxiliary police officers, usually part-time or volunteer officers. It also passed out of the General Assembly last year but was vetoed.

Republican Sen. Thomas Norment of James City said his bill was more of an "equalization of respect in law enforcement officers" than a death penalty expansion. He cited a case in his district in which there was a shootout that involved both paid and auxiliary officers. If the shooter would have killed the paid officer, he would have been eligible for the death penalty but would not have if he would have killed the auxiliary officer.

That bill passed 9-6. A similar measure also has passed out of the House.

Virginia has executed 105 inmates, more than any state except Texas, since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Texas has executed 449.

Source: Associated Press, Feb. 15, 2010

Senate panel defeats death penalty expansion

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee this morning voted down a bill that sought to expand eligibility for the death penalty.

On a vote of 9-6, senators defeated Senate Bill 7, which would have repealed the so-called "triggerman" provision in which only the actual killer is eligible for the death penalty in a capital murder.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, would have made principals in the 2nd degree and accomplices before the fact eligible for the death penalty.

The same legislation had cleared the committee last year and was voted off the Senate floor before Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vetoed it.

The Courts of Justice Committee gained 2 Democrats this year, increasing its majority on the panel.

The hearing on the bill was highlighted by nearly more than a dozen speakers, all but one of whom expressed opposition to the measure.

Opponents included death-penalty opponents and the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Michael N. Herring. He parted with the position of the Association of Commonwealths Attorneys, which spoke in support of the legislation.

Senators also approved a bill that would deny concealed handgun permits to out-of-state applicants who have had a drinking and driving offense in the last three years. That is the standard used for in-state residents.

Senators also defeated a measure that would have forbidden localities from fingerprinting applicants for concealed weapons permits.

Source: Charlottesville Daily Progress, Feb. 15, 2010