The state of Virginia has moved another step closer to ending capital punishmentRICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia moved another step closer to ending capital punishment on Friday when the state House joined the Senate in voting to abolish the death penalty. It's a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state. In modern times, Virginia trails only Texas in the number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Last year, death penalty abolition bills in the General Assembly went nowhere. Michael Stone, the executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, attributes the dramatic shift to a new focus on racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Source: ABC News February 05, 2021 16:57 UTC