Virginia Senate Upholds Governor Kaine's Veto of Bills That Would Have Eliminated the "Triggerman" Rule
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Legislators Reject Governor's Attempt to Block Other Death Penalty Expansion Bills
RICHMOND, VA - The Virginia Senate today upheld Governor Tim Kaine's veto
of two bills that could have dramatically increased the number of
executions in Virginia by allowing capital charges to be brought against
accomplices and others only indirectly involved in first degree murders.
At least two senators needed to change the votes they cast during
the legislative session in order to prevent an override. That is exactly
what happened when Senators Richard Saslaw and John Edwards supported the
Governor's veto, despite having voted in favor of the bills during the session.
The vote was 14 in favor of upholding the veto, 25 opposed, and one
abstention. Senator Russell Potts abstained.
"The
governor and 14 senators may have just saved Virginia from the ignominy of
replacing Texas as the state with highest execution rate in the nation," said
American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis.
"This is a situation where one can support the death penalty, but
still oppose these bills because they will cost taxpayers millions of dollars,
and there is no indication they will have any positive effect on public safety,"
added Willis.
The bills, SB 1288 and HB 2348, would have eliminated
Virginia's "triggerman" rule, which states that only the person who actually
commits a murder qualifies for a capital crime, except in cases of murder for
hire or murder ordered by a drug dealer or terrorist.
Death penalty critics, who point out that Virginia ranks second
only to Texas in the number of persons executed, feared that elimination
of the rule might encourage prosecutors to bring many more death penalty cases
and cause more executions to take place.
Several studies in
recent years have given failing grades to Virginia's death penalty. These
studies question the quality of legal representation for indigent defendants,
the reluctance of appellate courts to review trial convictions and arcane
procedural rules that benefit prosecutors.
In addition to SB 1288
and HB 2348, Governor Kaine vetoed HB 2750 (premeditated killing of a judge), HB
2347 (premeditated killing of a witness) and SB 1116 (premeditated killing of a
judge, jurist or witness). But both the House and the Senate voted to
override the Governor's veto of these bills. Death penalty opponents
opposed these bills, but said that they are not likely to affect the number of
executions in Virginia.