MARYLAND (USA): HOUSE, LIKE SENATE, VOTES TO REPEAL DEATH PENALTY

The House of Delegates passed (82-56) a bill (HB 295) to abolish the death penalty in Maryland for future crimes. The same bill passed the Maryland Senate on March 6. Governor Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign the bill, which will make Maryland the 18th state to abolish the death penalty, and the fifth to do so in the last five years.
O'Malley said, “I’ve felt compelled to do everything I could to change our law, repeal the death penalty, so that we could focus on doing the things that actually work to reduce violent crime.” Maryland currently has five people on death row, but they will not be affected by the legislation. The other 5 states to recently abolish the death penalty are New Jersey (2007), New Mexico (2009), Illinois (2011) and Connecticut (2012).