Since the makeup of the Virginia State Senate should pretty much stay the same even with the two upcoming special elections being held this January the bills that were vetoed should have no problem making it back to the Governor's desk again this next year. One major factor to watch will be whether or not the Democrats attempt to play politics with this upcoming legislation that will more than likely be reintroduced knowing a new Governor who supports the death penalty will be in office. While I would not think Democratic politicians who support the death penalty would do this I read an article this morning in the Washington Examiner where the issue has been raised:
Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said one hope -- though distant -- lies in finding members of the Democrat-led Senate who may be unwilling to vote for the repeal now that it has a legitimate chance of becoming law.
"It's going to be very difficult," Willis said. "We're hoping that the knowledge that McDonnell will certainly sign the bill may cause a few senators to rethink their stance, and that we can prevent it from passing.
What bothers me about Mr. Willis' statement is that he is assuming that legislators who voted for the legislation last session will now change their vote because they know Bob McDonnell will sign the legislation. He essentially argues that their votes were done knowing that even if they vote in favor it will not become law. I find this incorrect and just foolish. What is more surprising in the anti-death penalty advocates logic and reasoning behind their opposition to some of the legislation that was vetoed last session.
On the website from the Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, they put out a pdf flier noting their opposition to two bills which would make it a capital offense to murder a Fire Marshall or Assistant Fire Marshall (SB 1069) and Auxiliary Police Officers and Auxiliary Deputy Sheriffs (SB 1409) respectively. In review their reasoning behind their opposition to such legislation I question how much they really know about current law regarding capital offenses and the law enforcement community and whether their opposition is just to look for any weak excuse to oppose further and proper expansion of the death penalty. Currently, Fire Marshalls are the ONLY law enforcement officers not given the same protections as their fellow brothers and sisters with the same powers under the Virginia code section relating to the death penalty. If they are killed in the line of duty their killer would not face the same punishment as a fellow law enforcement officer even if they were both executing lawful arrests at the time of their murder. If anything, this legislation would have simply updated the code section to be more inline with what it currently holds now which is if you are a law enforcement officer who is murdered then it is a capital offense.
The website also attempts to argue that the legislation would address "few, if any situations not already covered under the current statute." Again, I just don't follow or even comprehend their logic in this. They note subsection (7)killing two or more individuals and (13) murder under the terrorism statute as ways that somehow already address the problem. Like I said, their logic is so wrong and illogical I cannot even make sense of it. If anything this proposed legislation would have addressed the "few" instances which currently are not covered. An example is this: If a police officer goes to arrest a suspect and is killed, the suspect can face the death penalty. If a Fire Marshall goes to arrest a suspect and is killed that suspect WILL NOT be eligible for the death penalty. There is no way around the argument against this proposed legislation and those who attempt to oppose it fail miserably, as evidence from the VADP flier. Finally, the proposed legislation cover auxiliary officers and deputies simply in nothing more than providing protection to those who assist law enforcement now in their duties. An example of how this could be applied would be an auxiliary being killed while assisting in the arrest of a suspect. Under the current law, the suspect could kill the auxiliary but not face the death penalty as long as he doesn't kill the officer. Those who put on the uniform everyday in the protection of our society's values and norms need to know that they are not viewed as second class which this legislation would have prevent.
Lastly, as a death penalty supporter I must say that I have a very profound and deep respect for our current Governor Tim Kaine. He never once wavered on his personal opposition to the death penalty while he was running for public office but promised the citizens of Virginia that he would follow the current law regarding the death penalty. He has come through on that promise and he must be respected for that. Even though I disagree with his vetoes I cannot argue that he has but his personal beliefs ahead of his duty to follow and uphold the law of our Commonwealth. |
