{"id":18353,"date":"2021-03-24T19:11:06","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T23:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=18353"},"modified":"2021-03-24T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T23:11:06","slug":"virginia-governor-signs-bill-to-abolish-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/03\/24\/virginia-governor-signs-bill-to-abolish-death-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia governor signs bill to abolish death penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Virginia has become the first Southern US state to abolish the death penalty after its governor signed into law a bill that ends capital punishment.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Governor Ralph Northam said the repeal would stop a “machinery of death” with a history of racial disparities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It comes at a time of renewed national debate on the topic of executions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Virginia has executed more people than any other state except Texas since capital punishment was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1976.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Since then, the vast majority of executions have taken place in the Southern US states that made up the former slave-owning Confederacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Executions are still authorised in 27 states across the country, though several have enacted a moratorium on carrying the punishment out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A federal moratorium was ended by former President Donald Trump, who resumed them on a federal level last year after a 17-year hiatus. Some 13 people were put to death in a matter of months – including six executions carried out after his election defeat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden vowed to end the federal death penalty and encourage states to follow suit, but has not addressed the issue as president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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