The 2008 Election cycle has proven that we can’t take nothing for granted, so if you live in the 8th, 10th or 11th (Democratic Primary,  please get out and vote at your polling place. 

      Here are my endorsements for the Primary:

8th:  Amit Singh

10th:  Frank Wolf

11th Democratic Primary:  Leslie Byrne

        Well, it seems that Governor Kaine is following through with a campaign promise in 2005 by commuting the death sentence of a man who brutally murdered three people in Danville in 1996.   Percy Walton should be spending the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole or even facing death row for this awful crime.   However, Kaine feels obligated to step in and declare that this man has the chance to have freedom from his criminal behavior.   It makes me sick that you have politicians who would rather ignore the judgment passed down by the judicial system for a heinous crime, for the sake of a political agenda.

        Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling made a statement regarding Governor Kaine’s recent commutation of Percy Walton’s death sentence.    Here is the statement:

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BOLLING’S STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR KAINE’S COMMUTATION OF PERCY WALTON’S DEATH SENTENCE
 
Earlier today, Governor Tim Kaine commuted the death sentence of Percy Walton, who was convicted of brutally murdering three people in Danville in 1996.  In response to the Governor’s actions, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling issued the following statement:
 
“I was very disappointed by Governor Kaine’s decision to commute the death sentence of Percy Walton.  The Governor’s decision is inconsistent with the findings of the courts, and it sets a very dangerous precedent for evaluating cases of this nature in the future.
 
“In 1996 Percy Walton brutally murdered three innocent people in Danville.  He had been tried and convicted of these charges and the court had decided that he should be put to death for these crimes.  Walton’s conviction and sentence had subsequently been reviewed by Virginia courts and federal courts, and these courts had consistently found that Walton was mentally competent and eligible for execution under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
 
“While the imposition of the death penalty should never be undertaken lightly, there are certain cases where the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for the crimes committed.  That is certainly true in this case.  By unilaterally concluding that Walton is mentally incompetent and substituting his own judgment for that of the courts, Governor Kaine has done an injustice to the families of Percy Walton’s victims and set a very dangerous precedent for evaluating such cases in the future.
 
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of Percy Walton’s brutal crimes.”

       At least, Bolling recognizes that Kaine’s recent decision to commute Walton’s sentence could cause future problems with similar cases.   It is a shame that there is no justice served in this heinous crime, and unfortunately, in today’s society, there does not seem to be any appreciation of justice.