GENERAL INTEREST substantially reduced the chance of a death sentence: among the 104 defendants with mixed court-appointed and hired counsel, 14 percent were sentenced to death. In comparison, out of 369 defendants with court-appointed counsel, 23 per-cent were sentenced to death. 38 Unfortunately, an individual’s innocence doesn’t always guarantee escaping a capital punishment conviction. In the United States, there have been 170 death row exonerations of wrongful convictions since 1973. 39 The quality of legal repre-sentation is instrumental in determining the fate of defendants in capital punishment cases, and poverty can serve as a barrier to gaining adequate defense. In other words, “capital punish-ment means them without the capital get the punishment.” 40 Unfortunately, an individual’s innocence doesn’t always guarantee escaping a capital punishment conviction. Studies have shown that a low socioeconomic status can affect which punishment the prosecutor pursues against the defen-dant. Phillips’ research suggests that the social status of victims who are murdered in capital punishment cases have a “robust influence” on whether the death penalty is sought and im-posed. 41 The study determined that convicted capital murder-ers were six times more likely to receive a death sentence when they killed married whites or Hispanics with college degrees and no criminal record — as opposed to unmarried Black or Asian victims with criminal records and no college degrees. 42 If a victim possessed a college degree, another means of social status, the odds of prosecutors seeking death were 1.5 times higher, while the ultimate chance of a death sentence being imposed by juries climbed to twice as likely. 43 Phillips’ research implicates, “in the capital of capital punishment, death is more apt to be sought and imposed on behalf of high-status victims” as “people who kill someone who’s ‘important’ are more likely to get the death penalty.” 44 Changing Times: Proposed Legislation and the Future of the Death Penalty in Virginia In January 2020, Virginia legislature introduced Senate Bill 449, which abolishes the death penalty for both future prosecu-tions and for those persons currently under a death sentence. 45 The bill amends numerous Virginia Code statutes to eliminate death as a penalty for Class 1 felonies as well as strike from related statutes any references to the punishment of death. Under the bill’s proposed changes, an offender convicted of a Class 1 felony must be sentenced to “imprisonment for life and would be ineligible for parole, good conduct allowance, earned sentence credits, or conditional release under Section 53.1-40.01”, which is related to geriatric offenders. 46 The bill’s provisions apply to Class 1 felonies that were sentenced on or after July 1, 2020. 47 Additionally, the bill permits those indi-viduals who received a death sentence before July 1, 2020 and are currently on death row, to have their sentence changed to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole, good conduct allowance, sentence credits, or conditional release. 48 Finally, the bill proposes to remove the requirement for the Department of Forensic Science to store, preserve, and retain evidence specific to cases where the death penalty is imposed. 49 The bill has garnered immense support from members of the Virginia legal community, including from a number of Virginian prosecutors. On February 3, 2020, a group of 21 current and former Virginia prosecutors, including two former attorneys generals, sent a letter to state lawmakers voicing their support of legislation to end capital punishment in Virginia. 50 The prosecutors referred to the death penalty as “a failed government program” and pointed to the financial strains of pursuing a death sentence, the lack of deterrent impact upon future crime, inconsistent application of the death penalty, and the potential for wrongful convictions. 51 It is even reported that Gov. Ralph Northam has promised to sign a death penalty repeal bill. 52 Despite such support for the bill, on February 5, 2020, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to delay consider-ation of SB 449 until the Senate’s 2021 legislative session. 53 Following suit, Virginia’s House of Representatives also proposed House Bill 85, a bill identical to SB 449 in January 2020. 54 However, the legislation never got a vote due to a late fiscal impact estimate placing a $72,630 estimate on the proposal. The cost analysis, prepared by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, factored in the two individuals cur-rently on death row and how much it would cost the state to house them if they’re not executed. 55 On February 11, 2020, the bill was left in the House Committee on Courts of Justice and was Adjourned Sine Die. 56 Despite the postponement of SB 449 and the failure of HB 85, the Virginia legislature is considering other death penalty reform including imposing a moratorium on death penalty ex-ecutions. Introduced to the Senate on January 8, 2020, Senate Bill 802 proposes to prohibit the executions of prisoners sen-tenced to death until adjournment of the first regular session of the General Assembly. 57 This bill is limited to only imposing a moratorium on executions and does not affect any other matter of law related to the death penalty, including bringing and trying capital charges, sentencing proceedings, imposition of the death penalty, appeals of the death penalty, and habeas review. 58 The moratorium on executions will continue until ad-journment of the first regular session of the General Assembly after a joint subcommittee, established pursuant to a joint reso-lution passed by the 2020 General Assembly, conducts a study of the death penalty in the Commonwealth and issues a report of its conclusions and recommendations. 59 On February 10, 2020, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted to continue the bill to 2021. 60 In April 2020, The Virginia legislature successfully engaged in death penalty reform through the enactment of Senate Bill 270. The Act amended and reenacted §§ 53.1-234 and 54.1-3307 of the Code of Virginia, in order to ensure heightened trans-36 VIRGINIA LAWYER | OCTOBER 2020 | VOL. 69 | GENERAL INTEREST www.vsb.org