Friday, May 3, 2013
The effort to place the issue on the ballot will be led by Democratic Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott.
Proponents of the death penalty in Maryland will attempt to overturn at the ballot box a new law repealing capital punishment. The effort to place the issue before voters in 2014 will be spearheaded by Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Del. Neil Parrott. The pair is expected to make the effort to collect the required 55,736 official during a Friday morning announcement near Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Shellenberger said the death penalty is an important tool for prosecutors. "One only has to look at what has taken place in our country in the last 10 years—Virginia Tech; Aurora, CO; Boston," Shellenberger said. "We don't know what is going to happen in the future but we should at least have the …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The 28-19 vote helps Gov. Martin O'Malley's top legislative priority avoid a conference committee some believed would kill the legislation.
Maryland senators voted Thursday night to approve an amended gun control bill rather than send the legislation to conference committee. Senators approved the bill by a vote of 28-19 just one day after the House debated the bill for 10 hours over two-days and added 17 amendments to a bill previously approved by the Senate. The bill was a major component of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s legislative priorities for the 90-day legislative session. “The fact is, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 provides no safety,” said Sen. EJ Pipkin, Senate Minority Leader. The concurrence means that the bill goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley for his signature rather than to a conference committee with just four days left in the session. Sen. Brian Frosh, a Montgomery …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The amended bill, passed by a 78-61 vote, will go back to the Senate and possibly a conference committee.
The Maryland House of Delegates Wednesday passed gun control legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley by a vote of 78-61. The amended bill bans 40 kinds of rifles including the AR15, requires fingerprinting and licensing of all purchasers of new guns and broadens the law prohibiting firearms purchases by anyone who is involuntarily committed because of mental illness. The bill was a major component of O'Malley's legislative package announced at the beginning of the 90-day session. The House of Delegates debated the bill for nearly 10 hours over two days. The amended bill will return to the Senate. The bill could go to a conference committee if the Senate does not accept the changes made by the House. Both the House and Senate must …
Friday, March 29, 2013
The bill that increases the gasoline tax by as much as 20 cents by 2016 now heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
A tax that will increase the cost of gas by as much as 20 cents by 2016 was given final approval Friday by the Maryland Senate. The bill passed largely along party lines by a vote of 27-20. Eight Democrats joined all 12 Republicans in opposing the tax increase measure. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is expected to sign the tax into law. The final vote came after legislators suspended the rules, allowing them to take both a preliminary and final vote in the same day and allow many lawmakers to leave the capital to observe Good Friday. The bill increases the state's tax on gas by more than 20 cents to 43.7 cents per gallon on July 2016. The tax would increase to 44.6 cents per gallon if the federal government …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
A preliminary vote in the full Maryland Senate could be scheduled as early as Friday.
The Senate Budget and Tax Committee Thursday approved a bill that would increase the gas tax by as much as 20 cents by 2016. Sen. Ed DeGrange, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, joined Republican Sens. David Brinkley, Richard Colburn and George Edwards in voting against the bill. The nine remaining Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the bill as approved last week by the House of Delegates. With the committee's approval, the bill could be scheduled for a preliminary vote by the full 47-member Senate as early as Friday. The bill would increase the state's tax on gas by more than 20 cents to 43.7 cents per gallon on July 2016. The tax would increase to 44.6 cents per gallon if the federal government fails to pass an Internet sales tax…
Friday, March 15, 2013
The bill now goes to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill repealing the death penalty in Maryland. With the 82-56 vote, the bill will go to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The House of Delegates rejects 18 amendments to a Senate bill that abolishes capital punishment.
The abolition of the death penalty in Maryland is one step closer to reality with a preliminary vote by the House of Delegates Wednesday night. The House debated the bill for more than two hours with proponents defeating 18 amendments. Only one of the amendments was offered by a Democrat, Del. C.T. Wilson of Charles County. The amendments attempted to change the bill from a full-blown repeal to a partial repeal, keeping capital punishment for contract killers, mass murderers, those who rape and murder or the killers of schoolchildren. The bill now moves to a final vote scheduled for Friday. Opponents of the repeal can still offer amendments before a final vote is taken. Both sides expect that any bill passed will ultimately end up as a …
A survey by Goucher College finds support on issues from banning assault-style weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds to fingerprinting and prohibitions on owning weapons for persons who are involuntarily committed.
From bans on assault-style weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines to fingerprinting anyone purchasing a gun, a new poll finds that a majority of Marylanders want stricter state gun laws. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College believe those purchasing a gun should be fingerprinted. The poll also found: Last month the Maryland Senate approved sweeping changes to gun laws that requires a license for all handgun purchases, bans of sales of assault-style weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, requires fingerprinting for new gun purchases, and prohibits anyone involuntarily committed involuntarily for mental health reasons or who …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
New Goucher College poll finds the public is almost evenly split on the job performance of both Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly.
A narrow majority of Marylanders believe the state is headed in the wrong direction and most are split on the job performance of Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College believe the state is on the wrong track compared to 44 percent who think it is going in the right direction. The same poll gave mixed reviews on the job performance of the governor and state legislators. Forty-six percent of Marylanders polled said they held a favorable view of O’Malley compared to 45 percent who said they held an unfavorable view. When asked O’Malley's job performance as governor, 47 percent approved and 43 percent disapproved. …
The latest poll from Goucher College shows that the majority of those polled do not see capital punishment as a deterrent to criminals.
A majority of Marylanders surveyed in a newly released poll say they favor retaining the death penalty in Maryland but appear to prefer life in prison without parole as a punishment for murder. The poll released by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College found that 51 percent of those surveyed favored retaining capital punishment in Maryland compared to 43 percent who said they favored abolishing the law. The poll released Wednesday afternoon comes just before the House of Delegates takes a scheduled preliminary vote on a bill to abolish the death penalty. That vote is scheduled for some time after 6 p.m. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed disagree that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder, while 37 …
Corbin Dallas Multipass
3:27 pm on Friday, May 10, 2013
"Innocence projects are far less likely to scrutinize the evidence for someone given life (or a long sentence), so the probability of a successful appeal is much smaller." If that were the case, then why would, as has been stated earlier in this very thread, the number of people exonerated through the innocence project that spent time on Death Row be only 18 of 306? If they were only focusing on … more ›