USA - Maryland. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approves SB 276 to abolish death penalty

The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approves Senate Bill 276, a measure to abolish death penalty. Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill cleared a tall hurdle as a key Senate committee approved the measure for the 1st time and sent it to the full chamber for a vote next week. The Senate panel voted 6 to 5 for the repeal bill. All 6 members of the panel who voted for the bill are Democrats. 2 other Democrats joined 3 Republicans in opposing the repeal. Maryland, where 5 prisoners sit on death row, would become the 18th state to outlaw capital punishment. Death sentences would be replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole. O'Malley last sponsored a repeal bill in 2009 and was unable to win a majority vote from the Judicial Proceedings Committee. The House of Delegates is poised to weigh the bill in coming weeks. The bill will now go to the full Senate, where 24 votes are needed for passage. The Senate’s death penalty repeal bill has 21 co-sponsors and sources have said there are enough votes for the bill to pass as 26 of the body’s 47 members have said they will support the bill. The bill’s House counterpart, House Bill 295, has been heard by the House Judiciary Committee but hasn’t been voted on. In the House the bill is expected to have an easier road than it did in the senate.