Death Penalty Repeal Legislation: Where Are We Now?
In May 2009, Governor O’Malley signed legislation giving Maryland the toughest standard of proof of guilt in death cases of any state. Capital prosecutions in Maryland will be limited to cases with biological evidence or DNA evidence that links the defendant to the act of murder; a videotaped, voluntary interrogation and confession of the defendant to the murder; or a video recording that conclusively links the defendant to the murder.
The UULM-MD worked with MD CASE (Maryland Citizens Against State Executions) on passing Governor O’Malley’s bill that would have repealed the death penalty outright. While we didn't get full repeal in 2009, the legislation signed into law is an important step forward in shutting down the death penalty in Maryland.
CASE’s goal is to eliminate all executions in our state. The next viable opportunity to get it done will be after Maryland's 2010 elections. UULM-MD will work with CASE to:
- Protest proposed new regulations for execution by lethal injection, on the basis that they include the use of a drug that is outlawed for euthanizing animals in our state, and propose the same combination of drugs as the old method, even though medical experts warn they can result in a tortuous death.
- Keep an eye out for legislative attempts to expand the recently passed death penalty legislation. For example, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said that he plans to introduce legislation that would expand the “biological evidence” needed to include fingerprint evidence. UULM-MD concurs with Sen. Lisa A. Gladden (D-Dist. 41) of Baltimore, who says, "[w]e don't want to make it easier to kill people."
Momentum against the death penalty continued into the 2010 legislative session as ALL bills to expand Maryland’s law were rejected in committees in both houses by wide margins. Two House bills and one Senate bill were voted down.
For more information and background on efforts to repeal Maryland’s death penalty last session and to follow work to protect the statute this session, visit www.mdcase.org.