Virginia becomes first US southern state to end death penalty

Advocates hope the move will lead to an end to capital punishment in the US south, where most executions occur.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation on Wednesday making Virginia the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, a dramatic shift for the commonwealth, which had the second-highest number of executions in the United States. “There is no place today for the death penalty in this commonwealth, in the south or in this nation,” Northam said shortly before signing the legislation. The bills were the culmination of a years-long battle by Democrats who argued the death penalty has been applied disproportionately to people of colour, the mentally ill and the poor.