USA - Virginia. Governor Kaine Vetoes Bills to Expand Death Penalty

Kaine Vetoes Bills to Expand Death Penalty. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vetoed several bills today, including those that would have expanded the death penalty to criminals who assist in murders or who kill fire marshals or auxiliary police officers. It was the third year in a row Kaine vetoed the "triggerman" bill that targets accomplices in murders. In Virginia, only the person directly responsible for a killing can be sentenced to death. "While the nature of the offenses targeted by this legislation is very serious, I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life," Kaine said in a statement. Virginia is one of only a handful of the nation's 35 death penalty states that do not allow capital punishment for those who are involved in a murder, but don't actually kill the victim. Kaine also vetoed bills today that would have made capital punishment possible for those who kill on-duty fire marshals or auxiliary police officers. Those bills passed the General Assembly with veto-proof majorities, so it is possible lawmakers could override him when they reconvene April 8. The legislation extending the death penalty to accomplices was a few votes shy of becoming veto-proof in the Senate. Kaine today also vetoed several gun bills allowing concealed-carry permit holders and retired law enforcement officers to carry firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol and exempting active-duty service members from the state's one-handgun-per-month purchase limit. He also rejected bills allowing those applying for a concealed-carry permit to complete the required firearms training online and prohibiting law enforcement agencies who hold voluntary gun buy-back programs from destroying the weapons. (see also Jan. 21 and 27, and Feb. 3, 10, and 24).