Death Penalty for Maryland Murders 11/09
Statement of Senate Minority Leader
Allan Kittleman
Maryland
State Senate
Our neighboring state of
Virginia offers a stark contrast to
Maryland in its criminal justice policy that provides for swift punishment of those who commit the most heinous crimes.
No one relishes the finality of a death sentence. However, many representatives of
Maryland’s police agencies, corrections officers and criminal justice organizations testified during the last legislative session that the death penalty has been effective as a crime deterrent in our state.
In advocating for the repeal of the death penalty last session, Governor Martin O’Malley responded to a question from Baltimore Examiner reporter Len Lazarick by saying that supporters of the death penalty “stand with
North Korea,
Iran and
China.” (
Baltimore Examiner, February 15, 2009)
Thus it is no surprise that under Governor O’Malley,
Maryland’s death penalty has been watered down with so many loopholes that it would take a prosecutorial contortionist to successfully seek a death penalty for even the worst crimes, including the murder of a law enforcement officer. By all standards, the death penalty in
Maryland is extinct.
Wisely,
Virginia prosecutors demanded and gained the right to prosecute John Allen Muhammad even though the majority of his murders were committed in
Maryland. The Beltway sniper attacks still haunt suburban Marylanders who recall the fear and chaos during those three weeks in October 2002.
Today, we believe that
Virginia did the right thing and that justice has prevailed from these terrifying acts of murder in
Maryland.
