Maryland To Abolish Death Penalty

Ending death row: Maryland is likely to become the 18th state to repeal the death penalty, after its General Assembly approved a measure outlawing executions. The House of Delegates voted 82–56 in favor of the bill — passed by the Senate nine days before — and Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected to sign the measure when the legislative session ends in April. “Evidence shows the death penalty is not a deterrent, it cannot be administered without racial bias, and it costs three times as much as life in prison,” said the governor, who had pushed for the repeal since taking office in 2007. He will now have to decide whether to commute the sentences of the five convicted murderers currently on death row to life without parole.