The VLW Blog

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to halt the planned execution of Paul Warner Powell, who was sentenced to death for the murder and attempted rape of a Prince William County girl in 1999.
Powell’s death was scheduled for July, but that date was canceled when the high court said it needed more time to review [...]

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Paul W. Powell will not be executed tomorrow night.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay of execution today pending review of his petition for a writ of certiorari to the high court.
The three-sentence order indicates that Powell shouldn’t put but so much faith in the stay, however.
If the court denies the petition, “this stay [...]

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The execution of death row inmate Paul Warner Powell has been scheduled for tomorrow.
The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney will be among the witnesses, reports the Associated Press.
Powell’s lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution until it can decide whether his second capital murder charge violated his protection against double jeopardy. [...]

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Legal and ethical questions have been raised by the apparent decision by an accused killer to seek his own execution.
Waverly Whitlock, who was charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old boy, has volunteered for the death penalty, according to the Daily Progress. His motives for the decision have not been revealed.
The [...]

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The capital murder case of Daryl Renard Atkins finally appears to be over.
The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled today that the prosecution had no way to challenge the trial judge’s commutation of Atkins’ death penalty to life in prison without possibility of parole.
York County Circuit Judge N. Prentiss Smiley commuted the sentence after concluding that [...]

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Sentencing instructions for a man facing the death penalty had the attention of the Supreme Court of Virginia yesterday.
According to the Associated Press, the jury that convicted Alfredo R. Prieto of the 1988 slayings of a young couple was allegedly given unconstitutional verdict forms.
Attorney Michael A. Siem argued that the forms failed to provide an option [...]

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Two prosecutors say it’s wrong that Duncan Meekins is still behind bars when he helped put the infamous Briley brothers in the electric chair.
Robert J. Rice and Warren Von Schuch, who prosecuted the case 30 years ago, are set to meet next month with Virginia Parole Board officials to plead for Meekins’ release. According to the Richmond [...]

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Defense attorneys are finding fertile ground for cross examination in a Campbell County death penalty case.
A medical examiner testified at a pretrial hearing yesterday that her signature was forged on the victim’s death certificate submitted to the Health Department. Evidence suggested the forgery might have been the result of a paperwork error at a funeral [...]

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Gov. Tim Kaine has vetoed a handful of bills from this year’s General Assembly session aimed at increasing the scope of Virginia’s death penalty.  In particular, the governor has refused to sign legislation that would modify Virginia’s “triggerman” rule to make accessories and principals in the second degree eligible for the death penalty in certain [...]

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York County Circuit Judge N. Prentis Smiley lacked any authority to commute the death sentence of capital murder defendant Daryl Renard Atkins to life in prison, an attorney told the Supreme Court of Virginia today.Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. and Justice Barbara Milano Keenan seemed to have trouble with that concept. Circuit judges have [...]

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