Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The results of the Quinnipiac University poll come as proponents of reinstating the death penalty in Maryland say the law is needed because of incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing.
Americans support the death penalty for terrorists, according to a national poll released by Quinnipiac University. The national survey found that 63 percent favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder involving an act of terrorism compared to 32 percent who said they opposed capital punishment. The results of the poll come as political leaders including Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott announced a plan to collect more than 55,000 signatures in order to reinstate the death penalty in Maryland. "One only has to look back to Oklahoma City, Aurora, CO, Newtown, CT, and the recent massacre in Boston to recognize that if these crimes were …
Monday, May 6, 2013
A Quinnipiac University poll shows the Maryland governor in the back of the pack regardless of whether or not Hillary Clinton decides to run in 2016.
The early prospects for 2016 White House bid for Gov. Martin O'Malley are dim, according to one national poll. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would get 65 percent of the vote in a Democratic primary, according to a poll released last week by Quinnipiac University. Trailing Clinton is current Vice President Joseph Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 13 and 4 percent of the vote respectively, according to the poll. O'Malley joins Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner at the back of the pack. Each polled with 1 percent of less of the support in the national poll. If Clinton were to decide not to run, Biden becomes the frontrunner with 45 percent of those polled saying they would support the vice …
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, May 2, 2013
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Del. Neil Parrott are scheduled to make an announcement Friday morning.
Two elected officials Friday are expected to make an announcement related to a possible effort to overturn Maryland's repeal of the death penalty -- a measure signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott are expected to make an announcement related to an effort to place the issue on the 2014 ballot as a referendum question. Parrott runs the website MDPetitions.com, which was responsible for placing laws such as the state's recognition of same sex marriage on the 2012 ballot. Shellenberger testified against the repeal of the death penalty during hearings in Annapolis earlier this year. A March poll released by the …
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Maryland House of Delegates passed the bill on Friday.
Towson delegates unanimously voted to repeal the death penalty in Maryland on Friday. The bill passed the Maryland House of Delegates with a vote of 82-56. It will now go to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature. District 42: Del. Susan Aumann: Voted for Repeal Del. William Frank: Voted for Repeal Del. Stephen Lafferty: Voted for Repeal Patch Associate Regional Editor Bryan Sears contributed to this report.
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 …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
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 …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A bill to repeal capital punishment is expected to pass out of a Senate committee with the vote of the Baltimore County Democrat.
The effort to repeal the death penalty in Maryland was stalled by the vote of one Baltimore County Democratic senator but it may pass this year because of another. Sen. Bobby Zirkin said he will vote in favor of a bill that repeals capital punishment in the state. "I'm forever torn on this issue, have been and probably always will be," Zirkin said in an interview Thursday. "I'm extremely jealous of people who fall comfortably on one side of the debate or the other." In the end, Zirkin said he made the decision to vote for repealing capital punishment based on testimony of some victims who said the death penalty provided little closure because of lengthy appeals and that the state hasn't executed anyone in nearly a decade. Zirkin said the …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Capital punishment in Maryland already is effectively dead, according to some prosecutors.
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Saturday, February 9
By Julia Maldonado, Capital News Service A bill that would repeal the death penalty in Maryland appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, adding momentum to Gov. Martin O’Malley and proponents’ push for repeal. But some prosecutors and other death penalty supporters say a repeal would only make official what is already true—capital punishment doesn’t really exist in Maryland. The state has one of the most restrictive death penalty laws in the country. Combine that with bureaucratic opposition from the governor and judges’ reluctance to impose the ultimate penalty, and even the most violent criminals are not likely to ever be executed, some say. “I don’t want them to ever have the opportunity to do it again,” said Sen. Kathleen …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A new poll by Annapolis-Based Gonzales Research shows support for banning assault weapons while only 25 percent of those polled want to see Gov. Martin O'Malley run for President.
Nearly two-thirds of Marylanders surveyed say a sentence of life without parole is an acceptable alternative to the death penalty. The results are part of a survey released early Wednesday morning by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research. The poll 801 state residents found that support for the death penalty in the state has slipped to 49 percent. In 2011, that same poll found that 56 percent of those polled favored the death penalty. Opposition to the death penalty comes from Democrats and blacks at nearly 60 percent each. Republicans, independents and whites all favor the retention of capital punishment, according to the poll. Gov. Martin O'Malley has made the repeal of the death penalty one of his legislative priorities for the 2013 Maryland…
George Young
1:03 am on Thursday, May 9, 2013
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