USA - Virginia. Senate committee passes death penalty expansion.

Senate committee passes death penalty expansion. The Senate Courts Committee advanced one bill to expand the death penalty to those who assist in a murder but don't do the actual killing and another to allow it for those who kill a fire marshal or his assistant while on the job. But the true test will be whether the bills can get enough support in the full Senate to override a veto by the governor. For the past two years, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has vetoed the expansion of Virginia's "triggerman rule," which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the killing. Virginia law already allows the death penalty for murder accomplices in the case of a murder for hire, terrorism and continuing criminal enterprise. The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain, would allow the death penalty for any accomplice who shares the triggerman's intent to kill. Obenshain's bill passed the committee 8-6 with 1 absention. While the Republican-controlled House had enough votes to overturn the veto each year, the Democrat-led Senate came just shy of the 2/3 margin necessary to override Kaine. Sen. Steve Martin's bill would add fire marshals and assistant fire marshals to the long list of law enforcement officers for which killing them in their line of duty is punishable by death. It passed out of the committee on a 12-3 vote. Martin is Republican. Virginia has executed more inmates than any state except Texas since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.