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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Maryland Suspends Death Penalty |
Current rating: 0 |
by Joe Futrelle
(No verified email address) |
09 May 2002
Modified: 11 May 2002 |
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Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening has suspended the death penalty in the state pending a study of fairness of the practice. |
Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening has suspended the death penalty in the state pending a study of fairness of the practice.
Maryland has executed three people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The moratorium stays the execution of Wesley E. Baker, previously scheduled to be executed next week.
The study is occasioned by concerns that the penalty is disproportionately applied to black criminals whose victims are white. The study is due to be completed in September.
See the Death Penalty Information Center for data about the death penalty in the U.S.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
You can write to Glendening to express support of his decision at governor (at) gov.state.md.us. Like Illinois Gov. George Ryan, Glendening is a supporter of the death penalty, but says he wants to make sure it is applied fairly. Ryan has said that in light of the Illinois study he is not sure that such a thing is possible. |
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More Moratorium |
by righteous justice
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
11 May 2002
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Maryland Governor Declares Moratorium on Executions
Concern of Racial Bias and Other Fairness Issues Fuel Halt
HYATTSVILLE, MD - May 9 - Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a halt to all executions in his state today pending release and General Assembly review of a study of racial bias currently in progress at the University of Maryland College Park. The executive order comes as Maryland was preparing to execute Wesley Baker next week.
Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend called for a moratorium last week, just before she announced her bid for Governor.
"Governor Glendening and Lieutenant Governor Townsend have done the right thing in standing up for fairness and equal protection under the law," said Jane Henderson of the Quixote Center's Moratorium Now! campaign. "Charges of racial bias have plagued Maryland's death penalty from the start. While the study was a good first step, the moratorium demonstrates that the Governor's office has finally gotten serious about ensuring civil rights."
A grassroots coalition spearheaded by the Quixote Center, the Maryland Catholic Conference, Amnesty International, and others has been actively pressuring the Executive and legislature to halt executions over the last several years. The coalition won a significant victory last March when the Maryland House of Delegates passed a moratorium bill 82-54. A filibuster in the Senate precluded the anticipated majority vote in that house.
Also last March, 400 Marylanders including members of Congress Al Wynn (4th District), Connie A. Morella (8th District), and Elijah E. Cummings (7th District), Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, the Honorable Andrew L. Sonner (Associate Judge, Court of Special Appeals), former Congressman Michael D. Barnes, filmmaker John Waters, council members from Prince George's and Montgomery counties and Baltimore City also signed a Baltimore Sun ad organized by Moratorium Now!, urging state legislators and the Governor to impose a moratorium.
Moratorium Now! is a four-year-old, national campaign of the Quixote Center working with state and local groups nationwide to build a broad base of grassroots support for a moratorium. Moratorium bills were introduced in 14 other states across the country this year. Over 2,000 national and local groups, municipalities and faith communities have called for a moratorium on executions. Among those are 72 local governments, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Atlanta, Tallahassee, Nashville and Detroit. (For a complete listing, call 301-699-0042 or see the National Tally at http://www.quixote.org/ej).
To learn more about the Moratorium Now! campaign, visit http://www.quixote.org/ej . For more death penalty information, visit http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org . |
