New Jersey Abolishes the Death Penalty! Will Maryland Be Next?


Maryland is close to death penalty repeal. We could be the first state to follow New Jersey's lead and end executions in our state once and for all. But we can't do it without you.

Momentum for repeal has been steadily building for a while now. And, just as New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has signed death penalty repeal into law, Maryland has a strong ally in Governor O'Malley. Now we need to make sure that those last few fence-sitting legislators hear from their constituents!

Please take a few minutes to write a letter to your lawmakers. Tell them how glad you are that repeal passed in New Jersey, and make sure to note how similar Maryland and New Jersey are when it comes to the death penalty:

  • Like New Jersey, Maryland has sentenced an innocent person - Kirk Bloodsworth - to death. Others have been wrongly convicted of crimes that were death eligible.

  • Like New Jersey, Maryland has life without parole on the books, a swift and sure sentence that protects society.

  • Like New Jersey, Maryland's death penalty delays the healing process of victims' families as they are made to navigate years of appeals and trials - appeals that are necessary if we're serious about not sending innocent people to death row.

  • Like New Jersey, Maryland spends a lot of money on and channels precious resources towards the maintenance of a system with little return. Indeed, nearly every death sentence handed down in the last decade has been overturned.

  • Maryland's death penalty is racially biased. Despite the fact that African-Americans make up 75 - 80% of homicide victims in the state, everybody currently on death row was convicted of killing a white person.

  • Marylanders are ready. Recent polling reveals that 61% of voters believe that life without parole is an acceptable substitute for the death penalty. Among Maryland's African-Americans that number is even higher - 77%.

Please, write that letter or make that phone call as soon as possible. If you don't know who represents you, find out - visit www.mdelect.net or call us at 301-779-5230.