Maryland To Be 18th State To Ban Death Penalty

The General Assembly approved it and Governor Martin O’Malley will likely sign it.

Supporters argue that capital punishment is costly, error-prone, racially biased and a poor deterrent. Opponents say it’s a necessary tool to punish those who commit the most egregious crimes.

Maryland has five men on death row, though the measure makes it clear the governor can commute their sentences to life in prison. The state’s last execution took place in 2005.

Capital punishment has been on hold in Maryland since a December 2006 ruling by the state’s highest court that the lethal injection protocols weren’t properly approved by a legislative committee.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.