without parole. they will spend the eternity of their natural lives behind bars. they got life without parole but their sentences were commuted from death to life. that s because virginia this year became the 23rd state in the country to formally abolish the death penalty. the first state in the south to do so. virginia has a singular history when it comes to killing prisoners. virginia s history goes back the first execution in the colonies was in virginia in 1608. virginia has killed more of its prisoners than any other state in the country. but just this year they decided they would never do that again. abolished the death penalty. virginia also passed new legal