Salon.com > Maryland

Maryland bans the death penalty

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:28:00 +0000

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers approved a measure abolishing the death penalty on Friday, and the bill is expected to be signed by the Democratic governor who has long pushed for banning capital punishment in the state.

If the measure is signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, it will make Maryland the 18th state in the nation to do away with the death penalty.

A repeal bill won final passage from the House of Delegates on Friday. It already had been approved by the Senate.

The House advanced the legislation this week after delegates rejected nearly 20 amendments, mostly from Republicans, aimed at keeping capital punishment for the most heinous crimes.

If passed, life without the possibility of parole would be the most severe sentence in the state.

Supporters of repeal argue that the death penalty is costly, error-prone, racially biased and a poor deterrent of crime. But opponents say it is a necessary tool to punish lawbreakers who commit the most egregious crimes.

Maryland has five men on death row. The measure would not apply to them retroactively, but the legislation makes clear that the governor can commute their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Maryland abolishing death penalty

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:51:00 +0000

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland lawmakers approved a measure abolishing the death penalty on Friday, and the bill is expected to be signed by the Democratic governor who has long pushed for banning capital punishment in the state.

If the measure is signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, it will make Maryland the 18th state in the nation to do away with the death penalty.

A repeal bill won final passage from the House of Delegates on Friday. It already had been approved by the Senate.

The House advanced the legislation this week after delegates rejected nearly 20 amendments, mostly from Republicans, aimed at keeping capital punishment for the most heinous crimes.

If passed, life without the possibility of parole would be the most severe sentence in the state.

The state's last execution took place in 2005, during the administration of Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich. He resumed executions after a moratorium had been in place pending a 2003 University of Maryland study, which found significant racial and geographic disparity in how the death penalty was carried out.

Capital punishment was put on hold in Maryland after a December 2006 ruling by Maryland's highest court that the state's lethal injection protocols weren't properly approved by a legislative committee. The committee, whose co-chairs oppose capital punishment, has yet to sign off on protocols.

O'Malley, a Catholic, expressed support for repeal legislation in 2007, but it stalled in a Senate committee.

Maryland has a large Catholic population, and the church opposes the death penalty.

In 2008, lawmakers created a commission to study capital punishment after repeal efforts failed again. The panel recommended a ban later that year, citing racial and jurisdictional disparities in how the death penalty is applied.

In 2009, lawmakers tightened the law to reduce the chances of an innocent person being sent to death row by restricting capital punishment to murder cases with biological evidence such as DNA, videotaped evidence of a murder or a videotaped confession.

According to the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services website, Maryland has executed only five inmates since 1976. There were three in the 1990s, and two when Ehrlich was governor.

In contrast, neighboring Virginia has executed 110 inmates since the U.S. Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. However, Virginia's death row population has dwindled to eight from a peak of 57 in 1995, in part because fewer death sentences are being handed down in the state amid an increased acceptance of life without parole as a reasonable alternative.

The center said death sentences have declined by 75 percent and executions by 60 percent nationally since the 1990s.

Connecticut abolished the death penalty last year. Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York also have outlawed it in recent years.

Focus shifts to Congress on gun control

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:03:00 +0000

Joe Biden will meet with the members of the House Democrats' gun violence task force Monday morning to discuss a way forward for gun control legislation in Congress. But things aren't looking so promising.

On Sunday, NRA president David Keene predicted that an assault weapons ban won't make it through Congress. And Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also indicated that a ban by itself won't pass, and it needs to be part of a broader gun control package.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has his doubts as well:

Mr. Reid has long cast himself as a protector of the Second Amendment and recently expressed doubts about the prospects of banning assault weapons. On "Nevada Week in Review," a public television program in Las Vegas, he said a ban may pass the Senate, but likely wouldn't win sufficient support in the House. He added that "the American people want us to be very cautious what we do."

Mr. Reid has a complicated relationship with the NRA, which in 2010 declined to endorse him or his Republican opponent. The Nevada Democrat has opposed an assault weapons ban in the past. But in the wake of the Connecticut shootings, he said every idea should be on the table.

Conservative legal group advises Christian clerks on gay marriage licenses

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom is advising clerks in Maine, Maryland and Washington how they can avoid issuing newly legal marriage licences to gay couples, so they can "perform their job without violating their conscience."

The ADF, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, sent out legal memos to municipal clerks in the three states, which each legalized gay marriage on Election Day, telling them that they “can readily resolve this potential religious conflict” and avoid issuing the marriage licenses themselves, instead delegating to those who don't have such objections.

“No American should be forced to give up a constitutionally protected freedom, nor should any American be forced to give up his or her job to maintain that freedom,” said ADF senior counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “Religious freedom is paramount to every American, including those issuing marriage licenses. They can perform their job without violating their conscience.”

Gay marriage groups hope to turn focus from the ballot box

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Though Tuesday night was a big night for same-sex marriage, with three states legalizing it and one rejecting a constitutional ban, gay marriage advocates think there's only so much that can - and should - be accomplished at the state level.

"Rights should not be put to a vote," Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom to Marry, told the Wall Street Journal. "While we have now shown we can do it, it doesn't mean that we should have to do it, and it doesn't mean that it is easy to do."

He added that "very few" states will be appealing as fronts to pursue more ballot measures, because of costs and the scale of organization needed.

Adam Umhoefer, the executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, told the New York Times that the ballot measures wins were, as the Times put it, "the right outcomes in the wrong forums."

Barney Frank: “Within 10 years, we will have won this fight”

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Last night was a huge win for LGBT activists. Marriage equality passed by referendum for the first time in American history in Maine, Maryland and Washington, while Minnesota rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and Democrat Tammy Baldwin will become the Senate's first openly gay member after winning a close race in Wisconsin.

Salon spoke with Rep. Barney Frank, the first openly gay member of Congress, to get his reaction to the news and thoughts on the future of the equality fight. This conversation has been lightly edited for brevity.

A big night, what was your immediate reaction?

I was very happy. I expected good news, but wasn’t planning on perfect news. By the way, in addition to Tammy’s win, which is big, and the referenda, we have several new openly gay members of Congress. Mark Takano in California; Sean Maloney in Westchester County in New York; Mark Pocan replacing Tammy, so that’ll mean at least five [openly gay] representatives. It’s a significant increase. And then to win all four of the referenda? It was very good news.

NOM: Americans still oppose gay marriage

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:11:00 +0000

Gay rights groups had unprecedented victories at the ballot box with Minnesota, Maryland, Washington and Maine all voting in favor of gay marriage in one way or another. Last night marked the first time that any one measure in favor of gay marriage was successful at the ballot box, let alone four.

But if you ask the National Organization for Marriage, which poured millions of dollars into the races, this doesn't mean much.

Brian Brown, president of NOM, put out a statement today saying that they are "disappointed" about losing, but they knew it would be tough because "the four marriage battles [were] occurring in four of the deepest-blue states in America."

"Our opponents and some in the media will attempt to portray the election results as a changing point in how Americans view gay marriage, but that is not the case," Brown said. "Americans remain strongly in favor of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The election results reflect the political and funding advantages our opponents enjoyed in these very liberal states."

Shirtless masked jogger mocks storm of a lifetime

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 14:55:00 +0000

News 4 Washington has spotted a barechested man in a horse mask jogging around what appears to be a placid shopping district.

h/t Uproxx

Obama backs gay marriage ballot measures

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:20:00 +0000

In a series of campaign emails, the president unsurprisingly lent his support to three state-level ballot measures that would allow same-sex marriages.

From the New York Times:

"While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," according to a statement in Seattle by Paul Bell, press secretary for Obama's campaign in Washington and Oregon.

The state goes on to explicitly urge a yes vote for Washington state Referendum 74, which would allow same-sex couples to marry.

Nearly identical endorsement statements were issued in support of similar initiatives on the November 6 ballot in Maine and Maryland.

Obama announced his support for gay marriage for the first time back in May.

In Washington and Maryland, voters will decide whether to uphold laws passed by the respective state legislatures. Maine would be the first state to legalize gay marriage by a vote if the measure is successful.

Poll shows support for “Dream Act”

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Leading up to the November vote, a recent Washington Post poll found that Maryland voters broadly support a variation of the “Dream Act,” that will allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. If the measure passes in November, it will become the first statewide vote for a version of the law.

According to the poll, the initiative has garnered widespread support from Maryland Democrats and independents, while Republicans oppose the law by about 2 to 1. 58 percent of Maryland independent voters and 75 percent of Maryland Democrats support the measure.