Maryland Senate votes to repeal the death penalty
The Washington Post reports that Maryland Senate voted to repeal the death penalty, moving the state closer to becoming the sixth in as many years to abolish executions.
The 27 to 20 vote was widely seen as a key step in ending capital punishment in Maryland, which has not executed a death-row prisoner since 2005. The legislation now goes before the House of Delegates, where a vote could come as early as next week.
The House is expected to approve the measure, handing Gov. Martin ’Malley a long-sought legislative victory at a time when he is weighing a run for national office in 2016.
“It’s time to end this ineffective and expensive practice and put our efforts behind crime fighting strategies that work,” O’Malley (D) said in a statement.
Shari Silberstein, executive -director of Equal Justice USA, a group that is working to end the death penalty, said that Maryland’s action is part of a national trend and that she envisions another half-dozen states adopting the policy in the next several years.
“Just a few years ago, you wouldn’t have had a governor with national ambitions making this a banner issue,” Silberstein said. “It’s no longer the ‘third rail’ of politics. Voters don’t punish people at the polls for being anti-death penalty.”
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Labels: capital punishment, death penalty
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