Delong v. Commonwealth

A jury convicted Wayne Kenneth Delong of capital murder for “[t]he willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a law-enforcement officer . . . when such killing is for the purpose of interfering with the performance of his official duties”, Code § 18.2-31(f), and of the use of a firearm in the commission of murder, Code § 18.2-53.1. On the firearm conviction, the jury fixed the penalty at imprisonment for four years. In a separate proceeding, see Code § 19.2-264.3(C) and -264.4(A), the jury fixed the penalty on the homicide conviction at death. The trial court considered the probation…