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Religious Leaders Ask Veto of Virginia Electric Chair Bill

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Religious leaders are urging Gov. Terry McAuliffe to veto a bill that would allow the state to force condemned inmates to die in the electric chair.

Three hundred faith leaders from Virginia and across the county said in a statement Thursday that the electric chair is a "barbarous relic" that kills inmates with "unspeakable cruelty." They say they have a "moral responsibility" to preserve all lives, even those whose actions they "deplore."

The Democratic governor has refused to say whether he will sign the measure. The state has struggled to find enough drugs for executions amid a nationwide shortage.

Virginia is one of at least eight states that allow electrocutions, but currently gives inmates the choice of lethal injection or the electric chair.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.