Opponents Appear to Have Votes to Repeal Death Penalty
Capital punishment in Maryland already is effectively dead, according to some prosecutors.
By Julia Maldonado, Capital News Service
A bill that would repeal the death penalty in Maryland appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, adding momentum to Gov. Martin O’Malley and proponents’ push for repeal.
But some prosecutors and other death penalty supporters say a repeal would only make official what is already true—capital punishment doesn’t really exist in Maryland. The state has one of the most restrictive death penalty laws in the country.
Combine that with bureaucratic opposition from the governor and judges’ reluctance to impose the ultimate penalty, and even the most violent criminals are not likely to ever be executed, some say.
“I don’t want them to ever have the opportunity to do it again,” said Sen. Kathleen Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat who has been a supporter of the death penalty. “But as far as I’m concerned,” she said, “the death penalty doesn’t happen here in Maryland anyway.”
State’s Attorney John McCarthy of Montgomery County said he’s reluctant to even file a death penalty notice because he sees the existing statute as a form of deception.
“If you are a prosecutor and think it’s nice to have it as an option, you don’t really have it as an option,” said McCarthy, adding that he and his predecessor, Attorney General Doug Gansler, never pursued the death penalty in Montgomery County.
“The reality is that it will never be carried out (in Maryland),” McCarthy said. “I will not talk to victims’ families about the death penalty because it’s not fair to a victim’s family. It’s not achievable.”
Currently there are five people on death row in Maryland. Another five have been executed since 1976.
Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger is a vocal supporter of the death penalty and said that despite being written into law, “the death sentence has not been imposed as it should have been over the past years.”
He referenced a 2011 case in Baltimore County involving an Essex man, Walter P. Bishop Jr., who was hired as a contract murderer by Karla Porter to kill her husband, William Porter at his Hess gas station in Towson. Bishop fatally shot Porter for a sum of $9,000.
Contract murders fall under the umbrella of aggravating factors—which also include killing a police officer or killing two or more people in the same event—needed for the death penalty. Police also obtained a video of Bishop confessing to the crime, which made him eligible for the death sentence under the statute revised in 2009.
That legislation requires DNA evidence, a videotaped confession or video evidence of the crime.
Bishop was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. The jury believed his lack of prior criminal convictions outweighed the state’s request to impose the death sentence.
Washington County State’s Attorney Charles Strong—also a longtime supporter of the death penalty—believes that prison sentences come down to judges’ discretion, but that an additional limitation of the current death penalty law is the hole in the lethal injection methods used during execution.
“The governor has refused to do the stage that is necessary to implement the drug protocol,” Strong said. “The current method for execution involves the use of three drugs in the lethal injection, however, one of the three is not available for use.”
An anesthetic used in executions—sodium thiopental, or Pentothal—is no longer available in the United States, and O’Malley has not put forth a new protocol.
“Even if you get (the death penalty), you can’t kill him,” Strong said.
Regardless of the methods used, no one has been executed in Maryland in roughly seven years, despite the state’s potential to have legally done so.
In 2006, a man killed a correctional officer in Hagerstown while attempting to escape from prison.
The Howard County Circuit Court judge in the case cited mitigating factors—the convicted murderer, Brandon T. Morris’ troubled childhood—and in 2008, spared him the death penalty, opting to instead sentence him to life without parole.
Also in 2006, an inmate, Lee Edward Stephens, brutally stabbed and murdered a correctional officer in Jessup. Last year, he was sentenced to life without parole.
Several state’s attorneys feel Maryland simply does not have the stomach for the death penalty, and are convinced that the days for the death penalty in Maryland have been numbered for quite some time.
McCarthy likened the repeal to a glacier that has been moving over the years.
“It’s where the leadership—the governor, House and Senate—are taking us,” McCarthy said.
Proponents of the repeal of the death penalty often cite the expensive price of execution as a major flaw of the current statute.
"The death penalty is expensive, and it does not work and we should stop doing it,” O’Malley said, during his State of the State Address.
Earlier this week, Sen. John C. Astle and Sen. Ronald N. Young, Democrats from Anne Arundel and Frederick Counties respectively, joined the governor, 21 co-sponsors of the bill and two other senators who are pushing to pass the repeal legislation this session. That’s enough votes to get the legislation passed in the Senate, where it has failed in the past.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. agreed to allow the bill to come out of committee and be debated on the floor if the governor could show he had enough affirmative votes in the Senate.
However, defenders of capital punishment believe the costs of incarceration are much more severe.
Robert Di Stefano, who served in the Baltimore Police Department for 33 years and has been retired for 16, said if death penalty cases were handled as “one appeal, one shot,” they would no longer be excessively costly.
“We have people dying of old age on death row,” Di Stefano said, about the lengthy appeals process that can span over decades. “And the public has to pay to maintain them for 30 or 40 years.”
The appeals process can take decades, as evidenced by the cases of two men currently on Maryland’s death row—Anthony Grandison and Vernon Lee Evans—who were convicted in 1984 for a murder-for-hire case in Baltimore County.
Di Stefano believes the real costs come from the appeals, not the means.
“You can kill someone with a 35-cent bullet,” Di Stefano said.
debbie diangelo
8:03 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
death penalty exspensive how about the cost to keep them in prison for life the state would have more spending money if capital punnishment was followed i'm tired of being taxed to death to give prisoners a better education and medical then i have if capital punnishment was followed i think alot of potential criminals would think twice before commiting a crime right now they know they'll get 3 meals bed education and free medical compliments of the state of maryland's tax payers
Paul Amirault
9:32 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
This headline needs a fix, almost non-sensical.
Joe Robinson
11:24 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Typical Democrat BS. Complete hypocrisy. They have no problem with late term abortion on demand but they are against the death penalty. Yet one more reason to get the hell out of this BS state. O'Malley is running this state into the ground and too many people are too damned stupid to even realize it.
Joe McCarthy
12:45 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
See YA !
Steve
11:52 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Late term abortions are illegal in MD. You can't terminate a fetus after viability.
Joe Robinson
12:54 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Not true. 29 yo girl died after botched abortion this week in Germantown by that butcher Carhart: http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/late-term-abortionist-awol-as-patient-dies/
Steve
4:25 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
I stopped reading at World Nut Drooly.
As soon a s I see the WND I know the story is fake.
Joe McCarthy
12:47 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
You"re not gone yet? And take the fake news with you !
Concerned
3:02 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
It is 100% true that a 29 year old died this week here in Maryland after aborting a 33 week old fetus.ig you don't like that article, I saw several articles about it online today. The procedure was performed at an office in Germantown.
Joe Robinson
11:36 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-officials-probe-possible-abortion-link-in-womans-death/2013/02/09/f6bd74c2-7312-11e2-a050-b83a7b35c4b5_story.html
Piotr Gajewski
11:54 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Finally, the State of Maryland will join the rest of the civilized world. The death penalty was one of the only things that really bothered me about our State. I do not mind being taxed, but I do mind having my money used to strap down people and exterminate them (no matter what their crime).
As for Mr. Robinson’s comment above: I hope that you, Sir, find a place to move to that is more to your liking. I like Maryland as it is, and especially now that we appear to be getting rid of the death penalty.
Joe Robinson
12:55 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
If you consider Maryland civilized, you are delusional.
Piotr Gajewski
1:15 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Well, o.k. Mr. Robinson: there are some Maryland residents who are less civilized (like simply calling someone “delusional”), but as the State is becoming increasingly progressive, many of those citizens are threatening to move – so that the State's civilized quotient should be going up in the coming months and years.
Tim
2:00 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Feel free to leave anytime, Mr. Robinson.
Joe McCarthy
12:49 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Still here,I thought you were leaving. If it so bad try alabama,idaho,oklahoma,or any of the other "smart" states!
George Washington
3:13 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
This state has gone over to the dark side and it is crime ridden and very uncivilized. Pro death penalty because some malicious animals deserve to die!
Locke
1:11 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
The problem with the death penalty is you can never be 100% sure that the person charged is guilty. There have been lots of cases where a person as put to death.... only to learn later that he/she was not guilty. Once the death penalty is carried out, there is no going back.. it's final.
I don't think it should be repealed... however... it should only be used when the person's death will stop other deaths (war, terrorism, etc). Just my personal opinion and I know it's somewhat contradictory. It's a grey issue..
Piotr Gajewski
1:17 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
The “problem with the death penalty” is that it is barbaric.
Tim
2:03 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
far less barbaric then the multiple murders committed by said 'victim'
Piotr Gajewski
2:26 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Tim,
Absolutely! The criminal commits a barbaric act. I don’t want my State to perpetuate the cycle of barbarism by responding to a barbaric act with another barbaric act. The criminal is a barbarian; I would like my state to take the high road of civility – not sink to the level of the barbarian.
Tim
4:02 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Piotr,
I understand the intelligent counterarguments to the Death Penalty. Really, I do.
I just feel there's some 'really' distant point where putting down the barbarian in question is the most civil option, that's all.
Civil folks can always agree to disagree on things. I don't see much of that around here these days. This Patch - as its gotten more and more readership - has become (not surprisingly) less and less readable.
Brook Hubbard
4:22 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
To be honest, I blame the situation on a lack of moderation by Patch staff. I have sent multiple complaints highlighting precise areas of the Terms of Use violated, but little action has been taken against the offending parties. Without active moderation by those in control of the website, this will only continue to devolve into immature behavior by a specific group of users.
Tim
11:26 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Indeed Brook, area Patch management has been asleep at the wheel for quite some time.
Joe McCarthy
1:04 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Kirk Bloodsworth,Anthony Gray,and Keith Longtin are just 3 reasons and only in Maryland! How many never got exonerated and were killed! How many of the 500 in Texas were innocent? I would willing to bet if it was you(pro killing) being convicted you would have a very different opinion.
David Robier
1:47 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
The Death Penalty has NEVER been a deterrent. However, anyone who has received has never killed again. Some individuals relinquish their right to live (Such as Grandison) when they take other's lives. I agree with Ret. Officer DiStefano. One trial, one appeal, then, after losing the appeal the murderer doesn't go to "death row"... He/she goes to the room.
Please tell me why a convicted murderer deserves to live, receive health benefits, access to entertainment, excercise, and education, while his/her victim has suffered from their evil?
In a way, I admire John Thanos. He requested his execution. He knew that he would kill again if he got out. (His words) In that respect, he did the right thing.
Brook Hubbard
3:36 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
On the contrary. Punishment as a deterrent is a debated, yet valid and supported, theory in psychological, social, political, and legal fields. In an article on information security, the authors found that individuals with low self-control responded better to punishment than other forms of deterrents (Workman & Gathegi, 2007). One experimental study concluded that, contrary to some empirical literature, severity of punishment was a more effective deterrent than probability (Friesen, 2012). Another study used a change in sentences in Italy as an opportunity to observe results; the conclusion was that increases in sentences resulted in a reduction in recidivism (Drago, Galbiati, & Vertova, 2009). There is even an article on US data over a 40 year period, using 96 different regression models, found that capital punishment had a noticeable deterrent effect on overall murder rates (Dezhbakhsh & Shepherd, 2006). I would say that these, and the many more research articles, studies, etc., account for valid and reliable (if not "solid") proof of deterrence theories, including the death penalty as such.
Brook Hubbard
3:36 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
References:
Dezhbakhsh, H., & Shepherd, J. M. (2006, July). The deterrent effect of capital punishment: Evidence from a judicial experiment. Economic Inquiry, 44(3), 512-535.
Drago, F., Galbiat, R., & Vertova, P. (2009, April). The deterrent effects of prison: Evidence from a natural experiment. The Journal of Political Economy, 117(2), 257-280.
Friesen, L. (2012, October). Certainty of punishment versus severity of punishment: An experimental investigation. Southern Economic Journal, 79(2), 399-421.
Workman, M., & Gathegi, J. (2007, January). Punishment and ethics deterrents: A study of insider security contravention. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(2), 212-222.
FIFA_archived
4:13 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
It is an interesting conundrum to find Brook arguing that death penalty laws may have a deterrent effect while gun control laws are meaningless.
Brook can quote all the sources that support his position for a deterrent effect, however, the mainstream of thought is that there is no deterrent effect of the death penalty.
Brook Hubbard
4:21 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Please provide an exact quote where I said that gun control laws are meaningless.
Mainstream thought does not mean educated thought. In the early 20th century, the mainstream believed in segregation. From the early 18th century and prior, mainstream in many states believed slavery was acceptable. Prior to the 16th century, the mainstream believed the universe revolved around the Earth.
The question is not what the mainstream thinks but what critical thought, scientific method, and logical debate conclude.
FIFA_archived
4:47 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Ah, mainstream thought does not [necessarily] mean educated thought Brook. In this case though, it does, and you know it. You quote the outliers to support your position without quoting the vast majority of the mainstream that does not support your position. A method of debate perhaps, but not of reasoned thought.
FIFA_archived
4:51 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
On your other point, Brook said:
""Gun control does not lead to less killing." Opinions that gun control laws have not helped create safe environments in every country/situation. Supported by FBI statistics showing little correlation between stricter gun laws and lower firearm murder rates."
Brook Hubbard
4:55 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
"In this case though, it does, and you know it."
That is not a valid argument. Saying, "X is true and you know it!" is fallacy without any evidence to prove X is true.
"You quote the outliers to support your position without quoting the vast majority of the mainstream that does not support your position."
I have quoted direct academic articles on the topic. Why are these "outliers"? What sources do you have that are more reliable or valid regarding the topic?
1ke
9:30 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
The least of my concerns are the effects of capital punishment on malefactors or people with tendencies to commit crimes or to offend repeatedly.
I am more concerned about the damaging effect of state-sponsored homicide on the most loyal, decent and righteous of citizens.
How is one supposed to contribute to a society that holds human life in such low regard?
If you want the litmus test, would you advocate hanging a convicted murderer from a scaffold built on the parking lot of Harford Mall? Would you take the little lady and the kiddies?
George Washington
3:10 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
I agree, some people just commit such violent crimes they deserve to die!
FIFA_archived
4:59 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Brook, I am not a fool. Perhaps others are. I am sure you can find "many" sources that say global warming is not real as well.
Have a good day.
Brook Hubbard
5:02 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
I have not found a valid or reliable source that says any such thing, at least not in a blanket statement like that.
Arbutus Town Crier
9:34 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
fefe Any man is liable to err, only a fool persists in error. even when they profess " I am not a fool"
Brook Hubbard
5:03 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
"On your other point, Brook said:"
Quoting out of context. You pulled a quote from a list of points by opponents of SB281 and claimed it was my own. It was not my personal opinion or statement, but a summary of the points observed during the hearing.
http://columbia.patch.com/articles/legislators-take-aim-at-gun-legislation
Born to be Free
5:27 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Somebody please petition to put this on the ballot in 2014. I am a democrat and I support the death penalty. It's time to teach criminals a lesson. Does anybody have the candor to do this?
Joe McCarthy
1:07 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Well lets see we have killed and locked up more people than any nation in the world so hows that lesson going!
Michael
5:30 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
More dumb sh*t from O'Malley to go along with his gun ban proposal. The death penalty should remain on the books because no matter what anyone says, it is a detriment because NOBODY wants to die . Personally, I also think we should castrate rapists and lock them away for life, reduce the welfare rolls through tubal ligation on prolific "baby momma's, and have automatic 10 year, without parole, sentences for the use of a gun in any crime.
Joe McCarthy
1:09 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Lets just hang em from the highest tree,YE HAH! Texas needs more folks like you,can we pitch in and get you a one way ticket?
George Washington
3:08 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
i agree!
Piotr Gajewski
7:21 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
“It’s time to teach criminals a lesson.”
Cutting off a hand as a punishment for stealing or cutting out a tongue as a punishment for lying would also, one could argue, “teach criminals a lesson.” But as a society we have gotten rid of such punishments because of their barbarism (and we condemn other societies that still practice them). It seems inconsistent that we consider maiming barbaric but not the ultimate mutilation: the taking of a life.
“Please tell me why a convicted murderer deserves to live…”
Because to deprive him/her of living means that we would need to take his/her life; and the taking of a life is barbaric (even when the life being taken is one being lived by a barbarian). Our civility is what distinguishes us from barbarians.
Arbutus Town Crier
8:38 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Richard Trenton Chase
Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Rader (BTK), Ted Bundy, Son of Sam
I have no question why this type of human actions are undisputable and should not be able to have lawyers manipulate the laws spending our money. Human reasoning and common sense will tell you what they deserve.
Now currently some of in our society are promoting #GoDornerGo, eAreAllChrisDorner? Don’t blame me for someone else’s actions and have to pay my tax dollars for a person hunting and killing people
Let the supporters raise money build there own prison and support them! Go ahead band together raise money start a dot org or even Human rescue foster home in your own house This is America put YOUR MONEY where your mouth is! Oh don’t ask for government grants or support! If you’re so passionate of revoking the death penalty get the dot.org together. Or shut up! And don’t get me started on the Gun rights! We should have killed all the ass’s and cremated all of them, but then we would not have the Cain and Abel story, But Noooo we have no deal the entire Ass’s of today.
Joe McCarthy
1:16 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
WTF is this ? Texas could use you,How about a one way ticket whiner? Er,ah I mean crier.
FIFA_archived
9:04 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Everybody welcome ATC, aka God. He has the power in the name of the Almighty to execute. ATC is the One. Bow to the all powerful ATC.
1ke
9:15 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
The prophetic voice in the wilderness has spoken. One question: the ass's what?
Arbutus Town Crier
9:24 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Well hey boys miss me? I've been out of the country sorry I forgot to spell check! We should have killed all the ass’s and cremated all of them, but then we would not have the Cain and Abel story, But Noooo we have now deal the entire Ass’s of today. I had to fix "no" for the word "now" how did you know I was thinking about U guys LOL something to do with the reference to the Jawbone?
FIFA_archived
10:07 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Released from the Gulag I guess?
1ke
9:33 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Nah, if tiny illiteracies prohibited participation, 'twould be a blank slate indeed.
1ke
10:19 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
Actually, I thought you had bugged out and left Lorna Doom to face TEOTWAWKI
Kongo
10:24 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
What a laughingstock of pathetic liberal weepers Maryland has become. They might as well put out the welcome mat for murderers and scofflaws of all stripes to come to this state of weak libbie nutters to commit their dirty deeds.
1ke
11:07 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2013
B.O. Plenty. You crawled out from under the table a little early this evening.
Joe McCarthy
1:18 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Kill em all and let Duke sort em out!
ZIG
11:51 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
I am a former Democrat. I am pro Capital Punishment. I resent people who write mean spirited ignorant attacks on those who disagree with them. I am a veteran who thinks these actions are not in the spirit of Americanism
Carol
6:54 am on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Zig, Thank you for your service and all those that have given so much for our freedom. I pray we don't take it lightly, too many have given their lives. God Bless all those that are still serving.
George Washington
3:04 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
You would have to be compelled to side with the victims who also deserve justice for their murders, i am pro death penalty all the way!