USA - Maryland. Gov. Martin O'Malley says he is giving up on an effort to repeal the death penalty

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley says he is giving up on an effort to repeal the death penalty and is urging lawmakers to support a bill that would limit capital punishment cases. The governor says abolishing the death penalty would not be possible unless there are changes in the closely divided Senate. The Senate rejected a repeal bill on March 5 (see), passing instead a bill that would limit evidence allowed in death penalty cases. O'Malley says he is prepared to move ahead with new lethal injection regulations an appeals court has said are needed before executions can resume in Maryland and he will begin reviewing the state's five death row cases. The House Judiciary Committee meets Tuesday to debate both the repeal and the Senate proposal.