RICHMOND, 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.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam supports the legislation, which would make Virginia the 23rd state to stop executing death row inmates.
It's a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state.
The bill advanced on a 57-41 vote, which followed a heated debate in the chamber a day earlier. Democrats favoring abolishment said the death penalty is an archaic punishment in an era when many countries have already moved away from the practice, and too costly to implement, given the litigation involved.