Conservative Virginia Republicans Propose Death Penalty Moratorium and Abolition Legislation Del. Frank Hargrove (R- Hanover County), recently introduced a bill in the Virginia General Assembly to abolish the death penalty. Hargrove, who once proposed bringing back hanging as a method of execution in Virginia, said that he was troubled by the possibility that mistakes could lead to the execution of an innocent person. Another conservative Republican, Jeannemarie Devolites (R-Fairfax County), is sponsoring a moratorium bill which would suspend executions until after the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission completes its review of the state's death penalty system. "I think there's a lot of concern, not just from legislators, but from the public as a whole, that we could be executing innocent people," said Devolites. Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William), has proposed legislation that would require that capital juries be told that Virginia nearly executed an innocent man, Earl Washington, who was eventually exonerated by DNA evidence. Also pending are two other moratorium bills, two bills to abolish Virginia's "21-day" rule, which allows inmates just three weeks after sentencing to introduce newly discovered evidence, and a bill which would establish a procedure for inmates who are seeking DNA testing to prove their innocence. (Associated Press, 1/20/01) For a compilation of proposed Virginia Legislation, see http://www.vadp.org/legis.htm See also, Changes in the Death Penalty. (Death Penalty Information Center)