ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996 TAG: 9612030075
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
LEADING THE Western world in executions is hardly a matter of pride and glory for Virginians. No ad agency we know of is busy turning the achievement into a catchy tourism slogan. ("Virginia is for Lovers and Lethal Injections?")
And yet, barring last-minute intervention by the courts or Gov. George Allen, Virginia is due this disgraceful distinction. Five executions of death-row inmates will be carried out by the commonwealth before Christmas, beginning with tonight's scheduled killing of Gregory Beaver. These will bring the state's total for the year to nine - more than any other state or nation, according to Amnesty International.
Meanwhile, amid the gruesome holiday prelude, there is hope that Virginia's execution rampage may slow. If so, ironically, it is Allen, a death-penalty advocate, who must be thanked.
The governor is quick to point out that a reduction in executions would be an unintentional consequence of sentencing reforms he championed. But, as a result of those reforms, life in prison without parole is now a credible alternative to the death penalty. Jurors can confidently mete out life sentences for heinous crimes knowing that the sentence won't be circumvented.
Since life behind bars can now mean life behind bars, the death penalty is imposed less often. Only one criminal in Virginia was sentenced to death this year. That compares with six last year and 10 in 1994. Of course, as Allen says, these numbers don't constitute proof that public support for capital punishment has declined; they may prove a fluke, not a lasting trend.
In any case, until America joins the rest of the civilized world in repealing the death penalty, it's to be hoped Virginia jurors will continue to give death a holiday and opt, instead, for life.
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