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283 Mr. Cox said he appreciates the battle that Mr. Heller is fighting, and said he feels it is a long-term battle. Ms. Richards agreed with Mr. Cox, and said the state has nothing to be proud of in its current system, and she hopes society will revisit the death penalty. a. Minutes of January 3, 2000 b. RESOLUTION: Supporting Moratorium on Death Penalty WltEREAS the Commonwealth of Virginia Fas executed more people per capita than any other state with populations over one million, and is second only to the state of Texas in the total number of executions carried out since reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. WltEREAS the Corranonwealth of Vkginia denies those convicted of capital crimes full exercise of due process by implementing the following procedural rules: The "21-Day Rule," which does not permit a court to review any newly discovered evidence of innocence after 21 days have elapsed from the time of sentencing. The "Contemporaneous Objection Rule," which does not permit objections to be made in appeals if they were not made in the original trial. WItEREAS the Commonwealth of Virginia does not require that evidence be preserved so that it may be presented in appeal proceedings. WItEP~AS prisoner appeals have been severely curtailed, increasing the risk of imprisonment and execution of innocent people. In a series of rulings since 1991, the Supreme Court has drastically restricted the rights of death row prisoners to appeal their convictions and death sentences in federal courts, even in cases where prisoners present compelling evidence of innocence. In 1996, new legislation drastically limited federal court review of death penalty appeals and eliminated public funding of legal aid services for death row prisoners. WItER. EAS Virginia has the lowest reversal rate of death sentences on direct appeal in the country (6 percent). The Virginia Supreme Court has never reversed a death sentence under its mandatory review for proportionality. This review requires that it compare the nature of the murder with similar cases resulting in a life sentence. The Virg~a Supreme Court has never granted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus- a constitutional safeguard which allows for a challenge to the legitimacy (lawfulness) of a conviction or death sentence. Nationally, 40% of persons condemned to death receive reversals. WltEREAS the Comrnonwealth of Virginia has executed those who were diagnosed as mentally ill or retarded and those who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses. Wh~EREAS there is ample evidence that the death penalty is applied in a racist manner: In 1987, in McCleskey v. Kemp, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to act on data demonstrating the continuing reality of racial bias. In 1990, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported "a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in charging, sentencing and imposition of the death penalty." Nationwide, 82% of those put to death had been convicted of murdering a white person even though people of color are the victims in more than half of all homicides. In Virginia, only one white person has been executed for Irdlling a person of color. The U.S. Congress has failed repeatedly to pass the Racial Justice Act which would allow