This years’ Death Penalty Awareness Day will be held on Wednesday January 17 at the Capitol in Richmond. This date coincides with the first execution in the U.S. after the Death Penalty was reinstated in 1976. We will begin at 10:15 with a briefing session at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 8th and Grace Streets. This will be preceeded at 9:30 by Quaker Friends Advocacy Day briefing. Contact Sally Gudas at 804-752-2825. 

There are a number of death penalty related bills that the General Assembly will be 
looking at this session and this is an opportunity to familiarize yourself with these bills.

At 11:30, we will have our traditional rally in front of the General Assembly Building at 9th and Grace St. Immediately afterwards we will proceed to the Capitol Building where we will be recognized by the legislators on the floor of the House of Delegates.

Plan on making appointments with your Delegate and Senator in the afternoon. 
Contact us at 888-567-8237 if you plan on coming.
 

It's been ten years....
Banquet/Conference
 

VADP is proud to announce that this Fall we will turn 10 years old. Now is 
the time to place Saturday, October 6 on your calendars for our annual 
conference
followed in the evening by our 10th Anniversary celebration. Both Conference 
and Banquet will take place at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville. Plan on 
coming together to celebrate 10 years of action that has resulted in recent 
developments.
 

M o r a t o r i u m
NEWS
A poll of 735 registered voters taken by the Richmond Times- Dispatch/News 
Channel 10 from October 27-Nov. 2, showed that 58% of Virginians favor a 
moratorium on the death penalty. 42% were opposed. Respondents also favored 
DNA testing by 91% to 9%. 
 

A spokesman for Gov. Gilmore responded, “The Gov. is not going to let 
political polls dictate public safety issues. The Gov. believes in the death 
penalty.” A national poll taken by Peter Hart Research in September showed 
that 64% of Americans favored a moratorium while 89% favored providing DNA 
testing to Death Row inmates.
 

On Dec. 2, the Democratic State Central Committee unanimously approved a
resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. VADP congratulates 
the
Democratic Committee and encourages the Republican State Central Committee as 
well as other political organizations to do the same.
VADP also welcomes the announcement from the state chapter of the NAACP
that they too have passed a moratorium resolution. The list of organizations 
continues to grow. Virginia People of Faith for Alternatives to the Death 
Penalty has created a packet for faith- based groups to use to
encourage Moratorium resolutions in their faith communities. Contact Kathleen 
Kenney at the Catholic Diocese of Richmond at 804-359-5661 for more 
information.
 

Over 1000 Flock to Anti-Death Penalty Conference in San Francisco
 

                    by Joan Betz
 

The largest death penalty conference to date was held in San Francisco on 
November 16-19, attracting close to 1,000 participants from across the 
country and abroad. 
 

Sister Helen Prejean, Mike Farrell, Hugo Bedau and others addressed the large 
group on different occasions. William Nieves, a man who was released from 
Pennsylvania's death row just weeks before, spoke as well. The days were 
filled with a multitude of workshops ranging from fundraising, education, 
victims families roles, prison issues, media work and faith issues. There was 
input from members of states who presently do not have the death penalty, and 
international input as well. 
It was a time of networking, sharing of resources and ideas, and of making 
new contacts. It also was a reunion of sorts for many friends who are 
scattered across
the country. Along with myself, VADP executive director Henry Heller 
attending this event. There were several other VADP members who were present. 
A group of about10 people from Virginia met for lunch one day to get to know 
each other, share
ideas and to strategize about the upcoming General Assembly.
 

The awards banquet on Saturday night was an amazing and touching event. 
Virginia’s own Pat Bane was given a Lifetime Achievement award for her work 
against the death penalty, as a murder victim
family member. 
Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin who introduced legislation to abolish 
the death penalty  last year gave the keynote address. But the most historic 
part of the evening was when Illinois’ Governor George Ryan accepted an award 
for Outstanding Public Service. Gov. Ryan is a Republican who does not 
consider himself an “abolitionist” but declared a moratorium on executions 
last January  after 13 people sentenced to death were found to be wrongfully 
convicted in Illinois. He spoke about his journey in making this stunning 
decision, and the fact that he was not completely against capital punishment… 
”yet”. His candidness was largely appreciated by those at the banquet. His 
ambivalence about the death penalty was a challenge to all
of us. At least he spent the evening among hundreds of abolitionists, hearing 
the moving stories of the work that is being done.
This was a conference that was both informative and energizing. It is 
sobering to realize that there is much work to be done before we can see an 
end to this evil death penalty. But being reminded of the work that is being 
done nationwide and internationally is heartening.
 

THE DEATH PENALTY 
IN VIRGINIA: 
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
December, 2000   Compiled by Ed Wayland
Bill to Abolish the Death Penalty
 

On November 14, Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, Sr. (R-Hanover) announced that he 
will offer a bill to abolish the death penalty altogether. He said "One of 
the responsibilities of government is to protect the public. I have voted for 
the death penalty over the years numerous times. But now that we have life 
without parole I believe that addresses the situation without a sentence that 
is irreversible." He said if you make a mistake in the death penalty, "you 
can't go back and reverse it." He said the death penalty cannot be shown to 
be a deterrent, that it probably costs no more to imprison an inmate for life 
than it does to pursue a death case through trial and appeals and that it's 
still an imperfect process even with DNA.  It has been reported that Delegate 
Harvey B. Morgan (R-Gloucester) may join Hargrove in supporting this bill.
(Editor’s note: You can send letters of encouragement to Delegate Hargrove at 
10321 Washington Highway, Glen Allen, VA 23059)
 

Earl Washington Exonerated­ Innocent Man Imprisoned 17 Years, Almost Executed
 

On October 2, 2000, Governor James S. Gilmore III (R) pardoned Earl 
Washington Jr.
after new DNA tests found no sign that Washington committed the rape and 
slaying that once brought him within five days of execution. Washington was 
convicted of capital
murder and rape in Culpeper County in 1984. Six appellate court decisions 
found no
 reason to overturn Washington's conviction. At one point in 1985, Washington 
came within 5 days of being executed. His sentence was postponed by a federal 
appeals court, but that court later upheld his conviction. In 1994, with 
another execution date set, doubts about his guilt resulting from DNA tests 
caused then-Governor L. Douglas Wilder (D) to commute his sentence to life in 
prison. Wilder explained his decision to leave Washington in prison, saying 
the tests did not conclusively rule Washington out as a possible accomplice.
 

New DNA tests have now shown that Washington was, in fact, innocent of the 
crimes he was charged with. These latest tests led to Gilmore's pardon. 
Gilmore said, "I have decided it is just and appropriate to intervene in the 
judicial process by granting Earl Washington an absolute pardon. . . 
"Defenders of capital punishment in Virginia, led by the Attorney General's 
office, have often claimed that there are no innocent men on Virginia's death 
row.  As Earl Washington's case shows, it's not necessarily so. Many people 
have been forced to re-evaluate their views on the death penalty. Although, 
Gov. Gilmore exonerated Earl Washington in the murder of Rebecca Williams, he 
remains imprisoned pending a recommendation by the Virginia Board of Pardons 
and Parole.
 

 Virginia Supreme Court:  The 21-Day Rule
 

On October 13, 2000, the Virginia Supreme Court proposed significant changes 
to the 21-day rule. That rule is a procedural rule of the Supreme Court which 
prohibits consideration of any new evidence if 21 days have passed following 
the announcement of a sentence, even in death penalty cases. The Court's 
proposed rule change would permit a person under sentence of death to 
petition the Supreme Court for a hearing if there was new evidence that 
created a substantial likelihood that the person was not guilty of the crime. 
If the Court agreed, it would send the case back to the local Circuit Court 
where the original trial had taken place, for a hearing on the petition. 
 

The Court allowed 30 days (i.e., until mid-November) for the public to 
comment on the proposed rule.  On November 8, Attorney General Mark Early 
advised the Court that he strongly supports the current 21-day rule and that 
he opposed the Court's proposal. The Virginia State Crime Commission has 
asked the Court to postpone any further action
until the legislature meets, as the Crime Commission expects to make its own 
proposal to the legislature to revise the 21-day rule. See below. There has 
been no word from the
Court about when it plans to take the next step, but it may well wait until 
after the
legislative session.
 
 

Virginia State Crime Commission: 
The 21-Day Rule; Preserving
Evidence
 

At meetings in November and December, 2000, the Crime Commission discussed 
its own proposals for legislation to change Virginia's 21-day rule. "How do 
you tell people a guy
is innocent and has no forum to get out of jail?" asked state Sen. Kenneth W. 
Stolle (R-Virginia Beach), chairman of the Commission. "You can't sell that 
product."
 

The proposal would allow inmates, including those on death row, additional 
time to offer DNA evidence showing they were not guilty. The Commission is 
also supporting
legislation to require courts to keep physical evidence of a case for as much 
as 15 years. "I have always believed that public safety is the number one 
role of government. But public safety begins with protecting the innocent," 
said Stolle.  "You have to maintain the evidence . . . and you have to have a 
post-conviction process to let the evidence be tested." The Commission's 
latest proposal is limited to new DNA evidence, and would not apply to other 
kinds of evidence showing innocence. 
 

Stolle has asked the Virginia Supreme Court to delay issuing its own 
revisions to the 21-day rule until after the legislature has considered the 
matter. 
 

The Crime Commission is made up of 13 members, most of them legislators: 6 
members of the House of Delegates, 3 members of the Senate, 3 citizens 
appointed by the Governor, and the Attorney General or his designee. Its job 
is to "study, report and make recommendations on all areas of public safety 
and protection." See Code of Virignia, §9-125 et seq.
Latest Developments: On December 13, the DNA Task Force of the State Crime 
Commission announced the Bills it will recommend to the Crime Commission for 
the upcoming session.
The first would establish a court mechanism for the storage of evidence 
containing human biological material, such as blood or semen. The trial court 
could
decide to preserve the evidence for at least 15 years, and possibly as long 
as 20 years,
according to the bill. The law enforcement agency that investigated the crime 
would be responsible for holding onto the evidence. But in all death penalty 
convictions, the court would be required to order the storage of any relevant 
evidence with genetic material. 
 

(Editor’s note: This Bill addresses DNA and biological evidence only and thus 
is not acceptable without including any newly discovered evidence.)
 

 Another bill spells out how genetic material could be tested after a 
defendant is
convicted. The requirements for gaining post-conviction DNA testing, however, 
would
be numerous. According to the draft legislation, the defendant must show the 
evidence to
be tested wasn't discovered at the time of the trial. If the evidence was 
available, the bill mandates it only be tested if a newer technology is 
available and that the test may prove
innocence. (editors note: This bill is unsatisfactory because it stipulates 
that the DNA evidence must not have been known to the trial attorney. In Earl 
Washington’s case, the evidence was known to his trial attorney but was not 
presented. 
 Even if DNA testing indicates problems with the conviction, the third bill's 
requirements for reopening the case are even more stringent. To secure a 
review of a
conviction by the Supreme Court, the defendant must have pleaded not guilty 
at trial, among other requirements. But that provision disturbed task force 
member and Richmond
defense attorney Steve Benjamin, who said that there are documented cases 
where
innocent defendants have pleaded guilty. (taken from the Virginia Pilot Dec. 
14)
 

Please contact your legislator’s and tell them that these Bills developed by 
the Crime Commission do not go far enough to prevent the execution of an 
innocent person.
 

JLARC (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission): General Study of the 
Death Penalty
 

On November 13, 2000, JLARC unanimously approved a resolution to study the 
death
penalty in Virginia. Delegate Vincent F. Callahan, Jr. (R-Fairfax), 
Commission chair, said "We're going to look at the death penalty in Virginia: 
its fairness, its equity, the [use] of DNA evidence, perhaps also the 21-day 
rule." He went on to say "This is something we've never studied in Virginia, 
and as I said, it's going to be controversial." The JLARC staff was 
instructed to prepare a plan for the study and present it to the Commission 
in April, 2001. This means a final plan for the study will not be approved 
until after the 2001 General Assembly session. The final report on the study 
could take a year or more. 
 

JLARC, a commission made up mostly of influential legislators, has the 
responsibility to look at programs and practices of agencies of the state 
government with a view to seeing whether those programs are working well to 
achieve their goals and whether they are
using public funds in an appropriate, efficient and effective manner. The 
membership
consists of 6 members of the Virginia Senate, 9 members of the House of 
Delegates and the Auditor of Public Accounts. Further information on JLARC, 
including meeting schedules and agendas, is available at its web site: 
<jlarc.state.va.us>
 

Virginia General Assembly 
(21-Day Rule; Preservation of Evidence; Moratorium; Abolition & more
 

The General Assembly, of course, has the last word on all this, subject to 
the right of the Governor to veto what they do. We know at this point that 
the Crime Commission's proposals on the 21-day rule and on preserving 
evidence will be considered, along with other bills that take a different 
approach on these issues. There is also Delegate Hargrove's bill to abolish 
the death penalty. And it looks likely that there will be
legislation offered to enact a moratorium on executions in Virginia pending 
the outcome of the JLARC study. (See above.) 
 

The 2001 session will begin on Wednesday, January 10, 2001, and will run 
until late February. Much of the work of the General Assembly is done in 
committees. Bills dealing with matters relating to the death penalty will 
probably be considered by the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees 
before coming up for a final vote. 
 

Information on the members of the General Assembly, the committees, the text 
of proposed bills, the votes on bills, and more is on the legislature's 
excellent web page: <leg1.state.va.us>
 

Terry Williams Sentenced to Life
 

After 15 years on Death Row and coming with