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'{{refimprove|date=June 2010}} [[Capital punishment]] is legal in the [[U.S.]] [[U.S. state|State]] of [[Virginia]]. In what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first execution in the future United States was carried out in 1608. It was the first of 1,384 executions, the highest total of any state in the Union. For a full list of those executed since 1976 see the [[list of individuals executed in Virginia]]. ==History== Hanging was the predominant method for executions before 1909. Other methods had been used during this time — three people convicted of [[pirate|piracy]] in 1700 were [[gibbet]]ed, four pirates were hanged in chains in 1720, and a female slave was burned in 1737. From 1909 until 1994, the [[electric chair]] was used for all but one execution (that of [[Joel Payne]] on April 9, 1909). On February 2, 1951, four [[African American]]s (of the [[Martinsville Seven]]) were executed for rape in one case and another was executed for murder in an unrelated case—the most executions held on a single day in Virginia. On February 5, 1951, the remaining three defendants in the rape case were executed.<ref>Jim Iovino,"[Facts About Virginia's Death Row http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Facts-About-Virginias-Death-Row-69644447.html]", ''NBC'', 10 November 2009.</ref> The case of the Martinsville Seven led to scrutiny of racial bias in death penalties for rape in Virginia. Only Black men were executed for rape, ''de jure'' through the end of the Civil War, and ''de facto'' since the introduction of the electric chair.<ref name=RiseJSH>Eric W. Rise, "Race, Rape, and Radicalism: The Case of the Martinsville Seven, 1949–1951", ''Journal of Southern History'', LVIII(3), August 1992; accessed via JStor.</ref> The youngest person to have been executed in Virginia was [[Percy Ellis (criminal)|Percy Ellis]], who at the age of 16 was electrocuted on March 15, 1916. Only two women, [[Virginia Christian]] in 1912 and [[Teresa Lewis]] in 2010, have been put to death by the state since it took over executions from the counties. The last execution for [[rape]] took place on February 17,1961. And then people ate cake! ==Post-''Gregg''== After the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] upheld Georgia's "guided discretion" laws in ''[[Gregg v. Georgia]]'', Virginia's laws were modified along the same lines. The first person executed after being sentenced to death under these laws was [[Frank James Coppola|Frank Coppola]] on August 10, 1982. He was the first of 109 individuals executed by the state, the second highest total post-''Gregg'' behind Texas. The electric chair continued to be solely used until 1994, when legislation was enacted giving inmates the choice of [[lethal injection]] or the electric chair, with lethal injection the default method if no choice was made. Six inmates have since opted for the Virginia [[electric chair]]; the most recent was Robert Gleason on January 16, 2013. Former Gov. [[Timothy M. Kaine]] has also stated that he opposes the option of the electric chair, but he did not move to drop it as an option while in office. Executions are carried out at [[Greensville Correctional Center]] in [[Jarratt, Virginia]], and death row is located at the Sussex State Prison near [[Waverly, Virginia]]. State law specifies that at least six citizens who are not employees of the Department of Corrections must be present to serve as witnesses to the execution. Since Governor [[George Allen (U.S. politician)|George Allen]] signed an executive order on the matter in 1994, relatives of the homicide victim(s) in the case have the right to witness the execution. Relatives of the condemned inmate are barred from being present. A legal precedent in the United States was created after the U.S. Supreme Court case ''[[Atkins v. Virginia]]'', {{ussc|536|304|2002}}. It ruled that executing the mentally retarded violates the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth Amendment]]'s ban on [[cruel and unusual punishment]]s. Daryl Atkins had been involved in a murder and robbery. He was "mildly [[Mental retardation|mentally retarded]]" and had an [[IQ]] of 59. The ruling did stay the executions of several people on death row. Atkins was later judged to have an IQ of over 70 and remains on death row in Virginia. As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime <ref>[[Roper v. Simmons]], [[case citation|543 U.S. 551]] (2005)</ref> are constitutionally precluded from being executed. ==Public opinion== A 2001 poll of Virginians found that 69.5% supported the use of the death penalty, with 25.2% opposed.{{fact|date=July 2012}} The same poll found that if given the option of [[life imprisonment]] without the possibility of parole, support for the death penalty dropped to 45.2%, with 50% supporting life without parole.{{fact|date=July 2012}} ==Capital offenses== Under Virginia's Criminal Code, the following offenses carry the possibility of death: *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder in the commission of abduction, *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder during a robbery or attempted robbery *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder by a person engaged in a continuing [[Criminal Drug Enterprise]] *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder in the commission of rape or attempted rape or sodomy, or attempted sodomy, or object sexual penetration *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of a person under the age of 14 by a person over the age of 21 *[[Contract killing]] *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of more than one person (within a three year time frame) *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of a pregnant woman *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder by an inmate while in a correctional facility. *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder committed during an act of terrorism. *Willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of a judge, juror, or witness Before the 20th century, along with murder and rape, a variety of offenses could merit a death sentence: *[[Treason]] against Virginia, defined as "levying war against [the state], or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort, or establishing or causing to be established, without authority of the legislature, any government within its limits, separate from the existing government, holding or executing in such a usurped government, any office, place or appointment, swearing allegiance or professing fidelity to it, or resisting the execution of the laws under colour of authority derived from or protection afforded by it"<ref>{{citation|title=Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia|year=1848|pages=94–95|publisher=Virginia Division of Purchases and Supply|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ic2wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA94}}</ref> *[[Arson]] *[[Burglary]] *[[Cattle rustling|horse rustling]] *[[Robbery]] As Attorney General, Governor [[Bob McDonnell]] supported expanding the death penalty to participants in a homicide other than the "triggerman," and to those who kill a judge or a witness.<ref>Press Release[http://www.oag.state.va.us/PRESS_RELEASES/NewsArchive/032607_Death_Penalty.html]</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.vadp.org/ Virginia death penalty information] from Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty *[http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=23&did=210#Virginia Summaries of Recent Poll Findings] from [[Death Penalty Information Center]] *[http://www.nvdaily.com/news/images/feb09_1/execution_gurney.jpg Virginia execution chamber and gurney] *[http://gallerydriver.com/Art/03ElectricChair.gif Virginia electric chair] {{CapPun-US}} [[Category:Capital punishment in Virginia| ]] [[Category:Capital punishment in the United States by state|Virginia]] [[Category:Virginia law]] [[fr:Application de la peine de mort en Virginie]] [[pl:Kara śmierci w Wirginii]]'