And one of the key struggles was Virginia’s overuse of the death penalty. Virginia is the death penalty capital of the United States. But I vetoed many bills expanding the death penalty and helped implement changes to professionalize and better compensate criminal defense attorneys. I believe Virginia’s soon-to-be-finalized decision to abandon the death penalty — thanks to great leadership by advocates, bipartisan legislators, Gov. I am a co-sponsor of legislation to end the federal death penalty that, for the first time, has real momentum behind it.

Source: Washington Post February 19, 2021 20:03 UTC