On February 5, 2021, the Virginia House of Delegates voted to approve a bill to abolish the death penalty in the state and the state Senate approved a similar measure two days earlier. Governor Ralph Northam has made clear that he will sign the bill, which will put an end to the misuse of medicines in lethal injection executions in the state.
Last year, Virginia became the first state to repeal execution secrecy legislation, paving the way for the abolition of capital punishment this year.
Read more on the risks posed by execution secrecy