CategoriesJoin Us At:
|
Maryland Next to Repeal Death Penalty?
Approximately one month ago, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine abolished the death penalty in his state. Attention has now turned to Governor Martin O'Malley, whose public opposition to the death penalty makes Maryland the next possible state to replace execution with life in prison without possibility of parole. Susan Goering, Executive Director of the ACLU of Maryland, coauthored an op-ed calling on Gov. O'Malley to call for a repeal of the death penalty:
As the governor once testified, avoiding the high cost of the machinery of death would mean nearly $22 million for 500 additional police officers, protective equipment that saves officers' lives, or drug treatment for 10,000 of our addicted neighbors. Unlike the death penalty, these are investments that can actually spare more potential victims of violent crime.Also last week, the Dublin-based Sunday Business Post interviewed our own John Holdridge, Director of the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project. His interview with reporter Andrew Lynch, which discussed the recent momentum of the anti-death penalty movement, spoke to an unfamiliar audience: one that hasn't seen an execution since 1954: "Over in Europe, it's like a done deal," the soft-spoken, quietly authoritative lawyer says. ""Almost everyone here accepts that it's a barbaric practice and should be consigned to history. In my country, we still have a long way to go - but we're winning the argument."Ireland outlawed executions in 1990, and a constitutional ban on the death penalty was signed into law in 2002.
|
|
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites.
We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published.
Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section.