Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine has joined Senators Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy and Cory Booker to introduce legislation to immediately ban the use of the death penalty by the federal government.

Transcript:

Senator Kaine says he abhors the death penalty but would uphold the law and as Virginia Governor allowed 11 executions to proceed. But he says he’ll stop it where he can.

Kaine: I think it is time for us to repeal the federal death penalty law.

There have been no federal executions in 15 years, but Attorney General William Barr has just ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to carry out five executions in less than two months in December and January.

Kaine: States can still do what they want, but we have seen crime in the country come down in the last 15 years when there have been no executions. The majority of nations in the world that we would consider to be civilized nations don’t have the death penalty and we can keep our country safe without it.

Companion legislation was introduced in the House last week.