The following may be attributed to ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastañaga:
"The ACLU of Virginia is saddened and disappointed that Gov. McAuliffe has chosen to allow the Department of Corrections to execute a human being. Execution is a cruel and, increasingly unusual, punishment and is never the correct response to any crime, no matter how abhorrent. Rather than continue to find ways to ensure that government can implement a death sentence, including authorizing the concoction and use in secret of new and untested drugs, we urge Gov. McAuliffe to join us and become a champion for full repeal of Virginia’s death penalty statute."