Moments ago, Maryland became the 18th state to repeal the death penalty.
For years, I have walked the halls with Kirk Bloodsworth advocating for repeal. Kirk’s story could have been any of ours. He’s a born and bred Marylander from the Eastern Shore. He’s a former Marine. He was also the first Marylander freed from death row due to DNA evidence that proved his innocence.
Watching Kirk beam as I cast my vote in favor of repeal is a moment I won’t soon forget.
This is a win for Maryland and a win for justice in the Free State. With our vote today, we rejected state-sanctioned killings and re-affirmed our belief that Maryland is a state founded on tolerance, justice, and freedom.
Join me to share this incredible news by email, posting on facebook, or tweeting this historic news to your friends.
Taking this historic step is long overdue, because capital punishment is a uniquely severe and irreversible component of our legal system that neither deters crime nor guarantees justice. It does not make us safer, does not save us money, and is unevenly applied. It cannot be fixed – it must be abolished.
Life in prison without parole is a fairer approach. It assures we are rendering punishment, not vengeance. By willfully taking human life, the state imitates the worst of human impulses. Extinguishing a light, however dim, is never a path to greater illumination. Ending this unworkable, immoral, failed aspect of our justice system is the right thing to do. And today we did it!
We celebrate this win together. Maryland abolished the death penalty because of your calls, your letters, and your emails. Thank you for your passion, your devotion, and your sense of justice. It is an honor to share this victory with you.
Best,
Delegate Heather Mizeur
RD Sweetman says
“Life in prison without parole is a fairer approach. It assures we are rendering punishment, not vengeance.”
I’m totally against this Bill. I do not look at it as the state taking Vengeance, Heather Mizeur, those are your words, not mine. I look at it as Punishment. Even thieves when convicted usually have to pay back all or as much as can be required when they take something.
If the DNA evidence and all other evidences prove conclusively that an individual is Guilty of Murder, then they need to pay the price equal to the crime. You speak of Justice, tolerance and freedom. What about Justice for the Victims Families? You’ve just tossed all these values out the door…
joe diamond says
RD,
Actions do have consequences and punishment must be part of any social control. The problem I see with using the death penalty is that it does nothing to change the offending person…he is just gone ……..after a long series of expensive appeals. It does nothing to change other potential offenders. We are speaking about a crime that is often committed under great mental excitement; a crime of passion, sometimes. Other people will become angry and over react. The death penalty does nothing for the family of the deceased. It is also a crime of extreme self centerdness. We are told of the closure and of letting justice speak for the dead……….which I feel is crap generated by the evening news. Finally, how do you judge or rate the value of a crime?
Excluding everything I just mentioned there is the unavoidable fairness concept. If you are a poor and a member of a minority group you have an excellent chance of being convicted and incarcerated. Execution could be in your future. Rich white guys not so much. Their children are equally underrepresented in the juvenile system. We have to address the inequality issue. It could be just a result of poverty or it could be only racial bias but either way fairness is not present.
Asside from all that I agree with you.
Joe
joe diamond says
This is a step in the right direction,
There is so much more to be done in that area of “unevenly applied.” It is a good thing death row has been abolished. Minorities have always been over represented in both the execution schedule and jail populations. This legislation will remove another dark secret of the criminal “justice” system. As DNA testing has been working through conviction records innocent individuals like Mr. Bloodsworth have been exonerated. The little dark secret is that many of the innocent prisoners confessed to crimes they did not commit only because they were unwilling to roll the dice over the death penalty. They accepted long sentences including life because they had little faith in the system. This form of forced incrimination will no longer be possible.
Joe
Carla Massoni says
Agree wholeheartedly Joe.