SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Ending "Legalized Killing" in Maryland, Gov. Commutes All Remaining Death Sentences
State executions of four remaining inmates would "not serve the public good" now or in the future, says outgoing Democratic governor
Dec 31, 2014
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday that he would commute the sentences of the state's four remaining death row prisoners, reverting their convictions to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The outgoing Democratic governor, who has been named as a potential president candidate in 2016, said executing Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch and Jody Lee Miles would "not serve the public good of the people of Maryland."
The state's General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 2013--but did not apply that ruling to those already scheduled to be executed. That left four people on death row. However, state Attorney General Doug Gansler said in November that Maryland has no authority to put them to death, as there are no capital punishment statutes in place.
On Wednesday, O'Malley reiterated that stance, but went further as he addressed the moral implications of the issue. "In a representative government, state executions make every citizen a party to a legalized killing as punishment," he said.
"[T]here is one truth that stands between and before all of us," O'Malley added. "That truth is this--few of us would ever wish for our children or grandchildren to kill another human being or to take part in the killing of another human being."
O'Malley said he came to his decision after speaking with relatives of the prisoners' victims. "I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me," he said Wednesday. "They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process."
"The question at hand is whether any public good is served by allowing these essentially un-executable sentences to stand," he concluded. "In my judgment, leaving these death sentences in place does not serve the public good of the people of Maryland--present or future."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday that he would commute the sentences of the state's four remaining death row prisoners, reverting their convictions to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The outgoing Democratic governor, who has been named as a potential president candidate in 2016, said executing Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch and Jody Lee Miles would "not serve the public good of the people of Maryland."
The state's General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 2013--but did not apply that ruling to those already scheduled to be executed. That left four people on death row. However, state Attorney General Doug Gansler said in November that Maryland has no authority to put them to death, as there are no capital punishment statutes in place.
On Wednesday, O'Malley reiterated that stance, but went further as he addressed the moral implications of the issue. "In a representative government, state executions make every citizen a party to a legalized killing as punishment," he said.
"[T]here is one truth that stands between and before all of us," O'Malley added. "That truth is this--few of us would ever wish for our children or grandchildren to kill another human being or to take part in the killing of another human being."
O'Malley said he came to his decision after speaking with relatives of the prisoners' victims. "I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me," he said Wednesday. "They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process."
"The question at hand is whether any public good is served by allowing these essentially un-executable sentences to stand," he concluded. "In my judgment, leaving these death sentences in place does not serve the public good of the people of Maryland--present or future."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday that he would commute the sentences of the state's four remaining death row prisoners, reverting their convictions to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The outgoing Democratic governor, who has been named as a potential president candidate in 2016, said executing Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch and Jody Lee Miles would "not serve the public good of the people of Maryland."
The state's General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 2013--but did not apply that ruling to those already scheduled to be executed. That left four people on death row. However, state Attorney General Doug Gansler said in November that Maryland has no authority to put them to death, as there are no capital punishment statutes in place.
On Wednesday, O'Malley reiterated that stance, but went further as he addressed the moral implications of the issue. "In a representative government, state executions make every citizen a party to a legalized killing as punishment," he said.
"[T]here is one truth that stands between and before all of us," O'Malley added. "That truth is this--few of us would ever wish for our children or grandchildren to kill another human being or to take part in the killing of another human being."
O'Malley said he came to his decision after speaking with relatives of the prisoners' victims. "I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me," he said Wednesday. "They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process."
"The question at hand is whether any public good is served by allowing these essentially un-executable sentences to stand," he concluded. "In my judgment, leaving these death sentences in place does not serve the public good of the people of Maryland--present or future."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy