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Maryland commission urges abolition of state's death penalty

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this new article in the Baltimore Sun, a commission appointed by Maryland's governor has now "recommended abolishing capital punishment in Maryland, prompting hope among death penalty opponents that the General Assembly could end the 30-year practice when it convenes in January."  Here is more from the article: The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment voted 13-7 to make the recommendation and also found that the death penalty carries the "real possibility" of executing innocents and may be biased against blacks.  The commission's final report provides additional ammunition to O'Malley and other death penalty opponents in their uphill fight to stop state executions. Previous repeal efforts have narrowly failed despite high-profile campaigns by O'Malley, a Catholic and ardent opponent of capital punishment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).