RICHMOND, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - 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.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherDemocratic 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,.