Editors’ Note: Sourced in part from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 9, 2020. In 1871, the Virginia Supreme Court declared that prisoners were “slaves of the state.” That edict has been emulated across the nation throughout its prison systems. Recently, the… Read More ›
crime and punishment
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
For nearly 300 years following its founding until 1909, Virginia’s capital punishment preference was hanging. Up to 1918, another 90 individuals were dispatched by lynching, sometime characterized by the euphemistic term “extra-judicial” procedure. In a race to lead, Virginia has… Read More ›