Danville killer’s sentence commuted to life

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has commuted the death sentence for convicted Danville killer Percy Lavar Walton to life in prison without parole.
“In light of the foregoing conclusions and in accordance with the powers granted to me as Gov-ernor under Article V, Section 12 of the Constitution of Virginia, I have granted Walton a commu-tation of his three death sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” Kaine said in a news release.
Within two days of each other in November 2006, the bodies of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick and Archie Moore were found inside their respective Cabin Creek homes. They had been shot in the head.
Walton was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. However, his mental competency has been a constant issue.
Commonwealth’s Attorney William H. Fuller III said Monday that courts have found Walton competent to be executed, so he should be put to death.
“It has been cruel and unfair for the families of the Kendricks and Archie Moore, who have waited 12 years for justice to prevail in the death of their loved ones, to be denied final justice,” Fuller said.