18 February 2010 :

Senate panel defeats death penalty expansion. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee this morning voted down a bill that sought to expand eligibility for the death penalty. On a vote of 9-6, senators defeated Senate Bill 7, which would have repealed the so-called “triggerman” provision in which only the actual killer is eligible for the death penalty in a capital murder. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, would have made principals in the second degree and accomplices before the fact eligible for the death penalty. The “triggerman rule” bill has passed the Committee and the legislature in each of the past 3 years but was vetoed by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (see Jan. 21 and 27, Feb. 3, 10, and 24, and March 27, 2009). The Courts of Justice Committee gained 2 Democrats this year, increasing its majority on the panel.