Ban comes after a yearslong battle by Democrats in the state, which previously had US’s second-highest number of executions
www.theguardian.com
Governor Northam said that the death penalty is disproportionately used against Black people, who accounted for 296 of the 377 inmates executed by the state in the 20th century. This despite the fact that Blacks only account for 20% of the population and many mistakes had been made over the years.
Congratulations Virginia for becoming the 23rd State to abolish Capital Punishment which leaves 27 more to go before the US enters the civilised world regarding Criminal Justice.
Actually, the electric chair was banned in West Virginia more than 50 years ago. Virginia is hardly the "first southern state" to ban the punishment.
BTW, most civilized countries do have capital punishment. India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Nigeria, etc., all have no problem exercising justice when need be.