Is Jerry Kilgore running for gov., or executioneer?

Opinion Piece:

 

During the Oct. 9 Virginia state gubernatorial debate, between lt. gov. Tim Kaine and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (state senator Russ Potts, a moderate REpublican from Winchester was left out much to his dismay), the issue of capital punishment came up frequently. Moderator Larry Sabato asked Kaine, who has said he would uphold the state's capital punishment measure which I absolutely oppose, if he still felt opposed to the death penalty in the wake of a brutal slaying of a VCU student. Kaine responded by saying that he would not call for a moratorium as governor in spite of his personal objections. But, if there is one thing that Kilgore will never, ever disclose in either his ads or a debate, it is that there have been people exonerated from death row in Virginia, including Earl Washington of Culpepper. This is not a dismissive matter because it is very difficult to get the state to clear someone once they have been sentenced to death. Keith Coleman, of Grundy a far southwestern coal-minning community, was sent to his death despite world pleas. The case has still been brought forth and the state of Virginia refuses to test his DNA, even ten years after his infamous execution. In fact, the former pope actually asked then Gov. George Allen not to execute an inmate whose case had recieved world wide attention and Allen, who has since become Senator, refused! With his current campaign, Kilogore is not only insulting Kaine but he is spitting in the face of all of us who either oppose capital punishment outright or who have major concerns about how it is applied in Virginia. By frequently bringing up the matter, Kilgore thus seems more interested in being the state's 'prime executioneer' than taking care of other needs, including transportation, education, and ironically funding for local law enforcement needs.