Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) signed legislation banning the death penalty, making his state the 23rd to do so. Both houses of Virginia’s state legislature passed legislation implementing the ban on capital punishment, which Northam signed on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Gov. Ralph Northam just signed legislation to end the death penalty in Virginia.
— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) March 24, 2021
The commonwealth is the first southern state to end capital punishment. https://t.co/HyM7Pawk0F pic.twitter.com/NP20IlzRv6
Virginia has become the 23rd state to get rid of capital punishment. Moments ago, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill into law that abolishes the death penalty, making Virginia the first Southern state in the U.S. to end the practice. pic.twitter.com/WZIdRg0mx1
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 24, 2021
Northam said that the justice system must be “fair and equitable” and that the “machinery of death” must end via a ban on the death penalty. While hailing a ban on the death penalty as promoting justice, Northam famously advocated for infanticide, indicating that newborn babies could be killed after birth as a form of abortion.
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“It is vital that our criminal justice system operates fairly and punishes people equitably. We all know the death penalty doesn’t do that. It is inequitable, ineffective, and inhumane," Northam said in a release ahead of signing the bill. "Over Virginia’s long history, this Commonwealth has executed more people than any other state. And, like many other states, Virginia has come too close to executing an innocent person. It’s time we stop this machinery of death."
The governor noted that 1,400 individuals have received the death penalty since Virginia's time as a colony.
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