(Gerry Givens, the former chief executioner in Virginia. He eventually became an advocate against the practice. He passed away in 2020 from COVID-19.)
The Virginia state Senate voted on Wednesday to abolish the death penalty in the Commonwealth.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), a criminal defense attorney in Virginia. He says he pushed this bill for several different reasons, including the 174 people that were sentenced to death before later being exonerated for those charges.
Surovell also said that he believes a fair trial cannot take place when the death penalty is being considered and that there is a clear connection between the death penalty and racial discrimination. Statistics show that white victims only account for approximately one-half of all murder victims, while 80% of all capital cases involve white victims.
Additionally, abolishing the death penalty would save the Commonwealth money. The Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission prepared a report last year saying that it would cost $72,000 to move the two individuals currently on death row in Virginia. Surovell notes that removing the Capital Defender’s Service alone would save Virginia several million dollars.
Several Republicans spoke against the bill in an attempt to clarify their pro-life positions.
Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) refined his position by saying that he only supports “innocent” lives. Senator Richard Stuart (R-Stafford) shed light on his opposition by saying some people are rotten to their core. “We all want to be compassionate, but there are some people who don’t deserve our compassion.”
A few Republicans seemed inclined throughout committee meetings that they could possibly support the bill. On the final day of debate, however, they stated the floor that they were unhappy with the way the final legislation turned out.
Senator Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) first implied that she was going to vote in support of the bill – citing her pro-life views – but she later pointed to the failure of Republican amendments being included in the bill as her reasoning for not being able to support the legislation.
Senator Bill Stanley (R-Franklin), a copatron of the original bill, also spoke against the final version of the bill by stating that he still wants to end the death penalty, he just did not believe that this was the right way.
Democrats pushed back against the Republican opposition to the bill, noting their inconsistent stance on life in regard to the death penalty and abortion.
“You are either pro-life or you are not,” said Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond). “If you believe in the sanctity of life from beginning to end, you can’t default today.”
Morrissey also spoke of a rape case he worked on as a Richmond City prosecutor where he believed at the time he had achieved an airtight conviction. He said a false identification by the victim at the time led to an individual being falsely convicted. The man served 20 years in prison for the crime before he was eventually pardoned. Morrissey said he died two years after being released, before noting that this could happen just as easily in a capital murder case.
Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) spoke on the floor about Gerry Givens, the man who was formerly the chief executioner that turned into an advocate against capital punishment. Givens oversaw 62 executions in his time. “How can I be myself? I’m not a natural killer,” he told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2007 about his mindset during an execution. “These people haven’t done anything to me. I’m not doing it out of revenge.”
Surovell reflected on a time when he was a Governor’s fellow and they went on a tour of the facility where executions take place. He recalled meeting Givens and also seeing the electric chair that was used back then, noting he was scared to go near it. “How many people have sat in that thing while the Commonwealth of Virginia cooked the life out of them,” he recalled thinking. “I hope to god they are not still taking the Governor’s fellows and showing it to them.”
The chamber eventually decided to support the bill to abolish the death penalty on a 21-17 vote. Senator Stanley, a vocal opponent of the death penalty did not record a vote and was the lone Republican to not vote against the legislation.
The House of Delegates must also pass the same bill before it can be sent to Governor Ralph Northam for his signature.
The House already has a similar bill sponsored by Delegate Mike Mullin. “We are two days away from being the first state in the South to eliminate the death penalty,” Mullin said after the Senate vote on Wednesday. “Congratulations to [Senator Scott] Surovell for his amazing work. Now we need to do the same here in the House.”
Northam expressed his support of abolishment Wednesday. “It’s time for Virginia to join 22 other states and abolish the death penalty,” the Governor said in a press release. “I applaud every Senator who cast a courageous vote today, and I look forward to signing this bill into law.”
“I’m disappointed that we could not get any Republican votes,” Surovell said in an interview with Virginia Scope after the vote. “But it was a very difficult vote for most members and would not have happened without the leadership of Governor Northam and many of my colleagues looking into their hearts and reaching clarity about the justice system and society we aspire be.”
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