Lawyers can join the list simply by filling out a form identifying themselves as qualified, according to the study. Published statistics on attorney disciplinary actions indicate that lawyers appointed to represent defendants in capital cases are six times more likely to be the subject of bar disciplinary proceedings than other lawyers. In 1998 and 1999, Virginia executed eight prisoners within five years of their sentencing dates. The national average is nine years. There is no central repository for information about the way the state administers the death penalty and no enforceable or reliable method for compiling data about capital prosecutions, according to the report.
More study is needed.
Virginia's legislature is responsible to its citizens for the way the state administers the death penalty. But if the state does not accurately document its administration of the death penalty, it can neither inform its citizens or defend its practices. The Black Caucus of the General Assembly unsuccessfully sought a similar study during the last session. The effort was opposed by the Virginia attorney general's office, which feared a moratorium on executions might be sought pending the study's outcome. He said he will seek a state study again next year.