Gov. Martin O'Malley seeks to abolish Md. death penalty

Maryland's last execution occurred in 2005, when death row inmate Wesley Eugene Baker was put to death under former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, R-Md.

But if the current governor, Democrat Martin O'Malley, has his druthers, Baker's execution may mark the end of capital punishment in the state.

O'Malley announced Tuesday that he will file legislation to repeal the death penalty in Maryland, framing the abolition as a step toward greater justice and a nod to fiscal prudence.

"The death penalty is expensive and it does not work," O'Malley said, "And for that reason alone, I believe we should stop doing it."

O'Malley noted that "If you look over the last 30 or 40 years, the death penalty was on the books, and yet Baltimore still became the most violent and addicted city in America. Having the death penalty on the books did nothing to keep the homicides from rising."

While he conceded that "Good people on both sides of the issue have, in the past, disagreed about the morality of the death penalty," he argued, "I think there is increasingly less disagreement about its effectiveness."

But he did not avoid the dispute over capital punishment's morality, pointing to the results of a 2008 commission in Maryland that found that "for every 8.7 Americans sent to death row, there has been one innocent person exonerated."

O'Malley also cited the commission's finding that "the administration of the death penalty clearly shows racial bias" as evidence of injustice.

• The Slow Death of the Death Penalty
• Death Penalty Milestone

The NAACP applauded O'Malley's announcement and argued that the death penalty "does not deter crime and is used almost exclusively on the poor."

"The death penalty squanders millions of law enforcement dollars that could be better spent on victims' services and catching killers still at large," NAACP CEO Ben Jealous said in a statement.

Maryland's legislature would have to approve O'Malley's legislation, though there are some, including some Democrats, who have said they'll resist his repeal effort.

"You need the ultimate penalty there so that if they take a plea, a murderer and a rapist, the plea is life without parole, and they never ever walk the streets again," Democratic state senator James Brochin, who said he would vote against repeal legislation, told the Washington Times. "If you start with life without parole, and that's the worst thing you get, and the state's attorney takes a plea to life, then conceivably a rapist and a murderer can walk out after 25 or 30 years."

[dudleysharp]

Lies, ignorance or idiocy: Gov. O'Malley's Speech on Repealing Capital Punishment in Maryland (1)

To govern is, we hope, to be knowledgeable about what our leaders speak and to lead with truth.

Gov. O'Malley fails those standards.

The Gov. stated: " . . . ."for every 8.7 Americans sent to death row, there has been one innocent person exonerated."

Laughably absurd.

If we go by the most fraudulent of anti death penalty claims, wherein they claim 142 have been exonerated from death row during the post 1972 period when 8200 have been sent to death row, that is 1 out of 57.7.

Or reality. Possibly we have sent 40 actual innocents to death row, which is 1 innocent sent to death row out of every 205 so sentenced. All have been released.

1 out of 205.

The governor was off by 2356%.

Not surprisingly, the Governor claims he get his figures from the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment - the Commission appointed by . . . Gov. O'Malley.

Those in Maryland know, as do we all, that living murderers harm and murder, again. Executed ones do not.

Nationally, since 1973, at least 14,000 additional innocents have been murdered by those murderers the government has allowed to murder, again -- recidivist murderers.

Again, nationally, since 1973, depending upon review, we have allowed an additional 40,000-200,000 innocents to be murdered by those criminals the government has released on parole or probation or other early release policies, while many or most of those criminals were under government supervision.

In reality, contrary to what the Governor says, we don't know the cost differences between the death penalty and life without parole in Maryland. The costs the Governor mentions do not reflect an accurate, apples to apples comparison, as Marylanders deserve.

More responsible governance

Since 1976, Virginia has executed 72% (108) of those sentenced to death and did so within 7.1 years after sentencing, on average -- a responsible and cost savings protocol, which could be implemented in Maryland, if both justice and taxpayer funds were more respected and if the Governor and other anti death penalty leaders had not been constant obstructionists to responsible reforms.

Of course the death penalty deters.

All prospects of a negative consequence deter some. It is a truism. Even some anti death penalty leadership are honest enough to concede that the death penalty deters. The only outstanding question, is: "Does the death penalty deter more than life without parole?". The anecdotal evidence says that it does.

Not surprisingly, the Governor believes that death penalty deterrence is measured by murder rates. It isn't. It is as ridiculous as the Governor saying no laws deter anybody if there is a high crime rate. The reality is that all laws and sanctions, as all negative consequences, deter some, whether high crime rates or low.

But, lets follow the Governor's misguided thinking.

The United States has had double digit executions, annually, from 1984 - 2011. Murders are, now, at a 43 year low. Murder rates are, now, at a 48 year low.

Double digit annual executions stopped in the US in 1964 and resumed in 1984. During that period, murders increased by 100%.

Governor, the death penalty and race realities in Maryland are this:

"There is no race of the offender / victim effect at either the decision to advance a case to penalty hearing or the decision to sentence a defendant to death given a penalty hearing."

No governor, 141 countries have not abolished capital punishment. Countries retaining the death penalty are 101; those without 96.

The death penalty has the same foundation as do all legal sanctions: JUSTICE.

Truth is important, as well.

(1) "Repealing Capital Punishment in Maryland", Office of Governor Martin O'Malley, January 15th, 2013
http://www.governor.maryland.gov/blog/?p=7999

[meromictic]

Good! The United States will someday soon join the rest of the civilized world in getting rid of this premeditated murder. Mostly ignorant hicks support it anymore.

[tsigili]

There is no justification, for housing and feeding, at public expense, cockroaches.

That is what he is really proposing.

We have already tried that......and the criminals have become so numerous, we can't even begin to house them all.

The death penalty should not only remain, it should be used for habitual criminals, as well as for specific offenses.

[dante805]

Has anyone in the media asked O'Malley how he would stop a killer from killing while in Prison? VA just executed a 2 time in prison killer. Wake up you anti-DP fools. You are killing people with your stupid emotional policies. Keep and expand the DP. Time for West Virginia and Alaska to adopt DP legislation to keep these Anti-DP activists from winning another state.

[AutumnFoghamar]

It makes good economic sense to repeal the death penalty all over the country. It is inequitably applied, there are too many mistakes and if one goes "Oops!" after executing an innocent person - which happens all too frequently - then what?

[kristophercross]

Yeah Omalley, and WHO is gonna pay for the murderers?US!!!!!!!!!!!!!