Bulletin: Major (Very Welcome) Development: Lawmakers in Virginia have voted to abolish the death penalty - and Governor Northam says he plans to sign the bill into law...Opponents of the death penalty cite the high cost, the possibility of executing the innocent, and the disproportionate racial impact. Almost half of the people Virginia executes are Black, although Black residents only account for roughly 20% of the state's population. Del. Jay Jones, a Democrat, spoke to that last concern, remembering a conversation he had with his mother about her efforts to defend a man on death row. "She said, 'Jay, I'm trying to keep a man from getting lynched by the state,' " Jones said. "The death penalty is the direct descendant of lynching. It is state-sponsored racism. And we have an opportunity to end this today."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Opponents of the death penalty cite the high cost, the possibility of executing the innocent, and the disproportionate racial impact. Almost half of the people Virginia executes are Black, although Black residents only account for roughly 20% of the state's population. Del. Jay Jones, a Democrat, spoke to that last concern, remembering a conversation he had with his mother about her efforts to defend a man on death row. "She said, 'Jay, I'm trying to keep a man from getting lynched by the state,' " Jones said. "The death penalty is the direct descendant of lynching. It is state-sponsored racism. And we have an opportunity to end this today."

STORY: "Lawmakers in Virginia vote to abolish death penalty," by reporter Whittney Evans and David Streever, published by NPR  on February 5, 2031.

GIST: The Virginia House and Senate have both approved landmark legislation to abolish the death penalty in the commonwealth and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam says he plans to sign the bill into law once it reaches his desk. 

Before that happens, lawmakers still have to work out a disagreement about whether people sentenced to life in prison instead of death could be eligible for parole.

Two Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of abolition, but the party has been largely unified in opposition. One Republican Senator, Bill Stanley, co-sponsored the bill but abstained from voting. His support was conditional on a proposal to make people convicted of murder ineligible for parole after their death sentence was commuted.

Democrats couldn't agree to make that change.

Opponents of the death penalty cite the high cost, the possibility of executing the innocent, and the disproportionate racial impact. Almost half of the people Virginia executes are Black, although Black residents only account for roughly 20% of the state's population.

Del. Jay Jones, a Democrat, spoke to that last concern, remembering a conversation he had with his mother about her efforts to defend a man on death row.

"She said, 'Jay, I'm trying to keep a man from getting lynched by the state,' " Jones said. "The death penalty is the direct descendant of lynching. It is state-sponsored racism. And we have an opportunity to end this today."

Republican Del. Jason Miyares spoke in support of the death penalty. "Today in this commonwealth, we live under laws that are established for the common good," Miyares said."

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/05/964514242/lawmakers-in-virginia-vote-to-abolish-the-death-penalty

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD (FOR NOW!): "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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