VIDEO: Should Maryland Abolish the Death Penalty?
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and anti-death penalty advocate Kirk Bloodsworth share their opinions about efforts in Annapolis to repeal the state's capital punishment law.
Proposed legislation to repeal Maryland's death penalty is scheduled to be heard by state lawmakers in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Wednesday afternoon in Annapolis. Before the hearing, supporters of repeal are set to hold an 11:30 a.m. press conference in the House Office Building with NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous and relatives of murder victims. The two bills pending in the Senate and House have 85 co-sponsors between them. Repeal advocates are expected to argue that years of death penalty appeals torment families of murder victims who otherwise would never hear from a defendant sentenced to life in prison. Patch caught up with Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger—who supports the death penalty—…
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Peter Monaghan
2:38 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012
I do not believe that the Death Penalty should be repealed. However, I think the entire process needs to be overhauled. The time between sentencing and execution should be drastically reduced, and the sentencing requirements for Death Penalty, vs. life imprisonment, should have much tighter constraints bound to it. more ›