USA - Maryland. The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment issued a report today calling for the abolition

The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment issued a report today calling for the abolition of capital punishment in Maryland, foreshadowing what is expected to be a high-stakes battle in the legislative session that starts next month. A majority of the commission, led by Benjamin R. Civiletti, a former U.S. attorney general, concluded that the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder and creates the risk of executing innocent people. The panel also cited research showing racial and jurisdictional disparities in the state's application of capital punishment. The costs associated with cases in which a death sentence is sought are substantially higher than the costs associated with cases in which a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is sought. While both life without the possibility of parole and death penalty cases are extremely hard on families of victims, the Commission finds that the effects of capital cases are more detrimental to families than are life without the possibility of parole cases. The Commission recommends an increase of the services and resources already provided to families of victims as recommended by the Victims’ Subcommittee. While DNA testing has become a widely accepted method for determining guilt or innocence, it does not eliminate the risk of sentencing innocent persons to death since, in many cases, DNA evidence is not available and, even when it is available, is subject to contamination or error at the scene of the offense or in the laboratory. A minority of the commission members submitted a separate report asking the legislature not to repeal the death penalty. Maryland has had a de facto moratorium on capital punishment since December 2006, when the state's highest court ruled that regulations governing executions had not been adopted properly. The administration of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), a death penalty opponent, has delayed issuing new regulations. Gary D. Marynard, O'Malley's secretary of public safety and correctional services, said yesterday that updated regulations have been drafted. O'Malley has not indicated whether the regulations will be issued before resolution of the upcoming legislative debate.