Maryland's Court of Appeals upheld the state's death...

Maryland's Court of Appeals upheld the state's death penalty in a close decision, clearing the way for executions. The decision came 8 months after the Court of Appeals effectively halted the death penalty while it considered appeals from death row inmates about whether the law was applied fairly. Voting 4 to 3, the court ruled that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a New Jersey law on hate crimes did not invalidate Maryland's death penalty. The decision was a major setback for opponents of capital punishment not only in Maryland but throughout the nation. Similar challenges using the U.S. Supreme Court decision have been launched in other states. The decision came in the case of Lawrence Borchardt Sr., who in May 2000 was convicted of murdering an elderly couple two years earlier.