Reaction to Maryland Commission Call for Abolition

"A needed debate," is today's Baltimore Sun editorial.

Maryland's death penalty law violates the most basic standards of fairness and decency. That's the conclusion of a state commission on capital punishment, and it should prompt citizens to insist that lawmakers bring the issue to a vote when they convene in Annapolis next year.

The panel found, among other things, that the death penalty does not deter crime and is arbitrary and capricious, biased against African-Americans and fraught with risk for executing innocent people. During public hearings, the commissioners heard from dozens of witnesses and reviewed a large body of evidence pointing to the inescapable fact that the state's death penalty law is so deeply flawed that no amount of tinkering is likely to bring it into accord with the principals of equal justice.

Opponents of capital punishment, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, have called on legislators to repeal the law; the punishment exacted by a life without parole sentence shouldn't be underestimated. The House of Delegates has indicated some willingness to consider such a measure. But previous bills to abolish the death penalty have been bottled up in the state Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee, preventing an up or down vote.

This year, lawmakers must find a way to break the legislative logjam.

"Execution foes take heart," is the news report in the Sun, written by Laura Smitherman and Gadi Dechter.

Armed with a recommendation from a state commission to abolish Maryland's death penalty, opponents who have long sought to end the practice are hoping to finally put the matter to rest by pressuring key lawmakers to switch their votes.

With many opinions solidified on the personal and divisive issue, anti-death penalty and religious activists are focused on converting just one lawmaker on a Senate committee. Many Annapolis observers say the panel could be the only roadblock to passing a repeal bill - but getting the single vote needed to send the legislation to the floor for an up-or-down vote is far from certain.

One potential swing vote is first-term Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire, an Anne Arundel County Republican who attended Bob Jones University and belongs to the National Rifle Association. The engineer, who has voted against a repeal in the past, is regarded by liberal Democratic peers as a thoughtful legislator.

"I'm truly interested in seeing the facts," Simonaire said. "I'm going in with an open mind."

And, for some very inside legislative baseball:

Even the bill's chief sponsor acknowledges that movement during the General Assembly session that will begin in January may be unlikely. But Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat, said the commission's report will add momentum to repeal efforts. She predicted that such a bill will reach O'Malley's desk by the end of his first term in 2010.

"There's a movement afoot in the state that says consistently now the death penalty doesn't work," said Gladden, a public defender. "We're now in a position to figure out how you get it to the governor's desk."

O'Malley's administration and activist groups have tried to get a feel for vote tallies on the issue. Apart from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where a repeal bill died on a tied vote last year, activists say they have the votes to get a bill out of the House Judiciary Committee and to win passage in the full House of Delegates.

That scenario was confirmed by House Speaker Michael E. Busch yesterday. "If a bill moves favorably out of the Senate, I believe there are likely a majority of 71 votes in the House in support of a repeal," said Busch, who has supported the death penalty with some reservations and said he will review the commission's findings before making a "personal decision."

Activists think they have the needed support, but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said his chamber is "very evenly divided," and he doesn't think the commission report is likely to change anyone's thinking. Miller, who supports the death penalty and wields enormous sway over which bills get a vote in his chamber, said he doesn't plan to lobby his colleagues.

Another potential swing committee vote is Sen. Alex X. Mooney, a Frederick County Republican and Roman Catholic who also has pledged to keep an open mind on the issue. Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat and Catholic, also has been lobbied hard to change his stance. But he said yesterday that while he's "really torn," he continues to believe the death penalty is a deterrent to violent crime.

Gladden said it might be necessary to bypass the committee and petition the bill directly to the Senate floor - though she distanced herself from the rare and controversial parliamentary move that would subvert the power of the leadership structure controlled by Miller.

Annapolis' The Capital carries the AP report, "Governor pushes for repeal of death penalty."

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that he hopes a state panel's recommendation to repeal capital punishment will cause lawmakers to take "a fresh look" at the issue and approve banning the death penalty in Maryland. However, the Democratic governor says he's not sure whether enough of the legislators who have supported capital punishment in the past will change their minds.

The state commission announced its recommendation Wednesday, saying capital punishment doesn't deter crime and is affected by racial and jurisdictional disparities.

"I think the proper course of conduct now is for us to take a fresh look at the death penalty, ask ourselves why we need to continue to have the death penalty on the books," O'Malley told reporters Thursday. "It is ineffective. It does not work."

O'Malley said the state is on course for a significant reduction in homicides.

"And you know what? The death penalty had absolutely nothing to do with that lifesaving and that life-guarding progress," the governor said, noting that there have been no executions this year.

O'Malley said he looked forward to reading the report, which is scheduled to be released next month and said he hoped it would help persuade death penalty supporters. "I think wise people can change their mind and I think that is a sign they are becoming wiser."

Earlier coverage begins with this post.