RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia House of Delegates passed bill, HB 2263, to abolish the death penalty earlier today, which was carried by Delegate Mike Mullin (D-Newport News).
HB 2263, which revokes the death penalty and changes existing capital sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It passed the House on a vote of 57-41.
According to a news release, Delegate Mullin believes the death penalty is immoral, racially biased, ineffective, and costly.
"What keeps me up at night is that we run the risk of executing an innocent person. Even one innocent life lost to a wrongful conviction is one too many. It is long past time that we eliminate the the death penalty in Virginia,” said Mullin.
Officials say that there have been over 170 exonerations from death row nationwide since 1973, and nationally, at least one person is exonerated for every 9 that are executed.
