Virginia all but certain to become first southern state to abolish death penalty

State house's vote makes abolition assured, a historically important step since capital punishment emerged from the south as a legal alternative to lynching

Virginia is all but certain to become the first state of the old Confederate south to abolish the death penalty, after the commonwealth's house of delegates voted on Friday to end the ultimate punishment which it has practised since 1608.

Related: Virginia may be first in south to abolish death penalty and abandon legalized lynching'