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Patrick Semansky / AP
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, speaks at a rally in support of repealing the state's death penalty in Annapolis, Md., on Jan. 15. O'Malley argued that the death penalty is a waste of resources that could be better used to fight crime in more productive ways.
Maryland will become the 18th state to ban the death penalty.
A bill to outlaw capital punishment cleared the state House of Delegates on Friday and has already been approved by the Senate. Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, has said that he will sign it.
O’Malley told reporters after the vote that the ban validates a “core belief that we share in the dignity of every human being.”
“Overwhelming evidence tells us that the death penalty does not work,” he said earlier in the day on Twitter. He added: “Especially in tough times, if a public policy is expensive and does not work, then we should stop doing it.”
The vote in the House was 82-56.
Maryland has five men on death row; the new legislation would allow the governor to commute their sentences. The state last executed someone in 2005. It has put five people to death since reinstating the death penalty in 1978.
The House of Delegates rejected more than 20 proposed amendments to the ban, most proposed by Republicans, including some that would have allowed the death penalty in certain cases, such as child murders and the killing of police officers.
The other 17 states that have outlawed the death penalty are mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. The District of Columbia has also banned it. Maryland is the sixth state in six years to enact such a ban, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
O’Malley has been mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2016.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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More wasted tax dollars keeping trash alive
Bobby, if you read the article, you read that execution costs far more than imprisonment.
If you favor fiscal responsibility, you should favor this law.
The answer is not to ban the death penalty but to abolish the endless appeals.
The death penalty is not expensive. The process is. If there is any doubt about guilt, then it should be off the table. If there is zero doubt, then there is no reason for the criminal be be alive fore more than 10 minutes or so after the trial is over.
This is great news. Only 32 states will now prefer to pattern this aspect of their criminal justice system after North Korea, Yemen, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Must be that they want to follow Sharia law, right?
I'm happy to say that Oregon, although still having a death penalty statute, has a governor who refuses to execute any prisoners during his term of office.
Spenser
You are obviously not facing reality. All juries who vote guilty believe the defendant is not innocent. They have no reasonable doubts. Judges who sentence defendants to death believe that that person is guilty.
THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID EXECUTING INNOCENTS IS TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY.
The problem is not cost but deterrent...if you know you will not be executed but rather provided for by the system for the rest of your life what is to keep you from committing a crime? BTW - Oregon is a p*ssy state....
Yep. Imagine when ALL states abolish the death penalty, MORE murderers will be crowding our prisons, more killers that CAN excape and kill again and MORE tax dollars wasted on trash!!! Stop all the stupid appeals and litigations and it is a HELL of alot cheaper to put one to death for taking the life of another!! Bring back an eye for an eye!! There is nothing to deter a killer from killing anymore! We have lost our balls!! Thanks to the bleeding hearts out there!
People who are not fanatics nor living in caves are fully aware of the dozens and dozens of cases of people who were wrongly convicted finally being set free after 10, 15, 20 years in prison and in many such cases on Death Rows. Only a fanatic would not want to do everything possible to prevent even one person being executed for a crime they did not commit. And with so many possible ways for our legal system to err, there is only one way to prevent wrongful executions: no executions. And life in prison, with no parole is hardly being soft on crime.
Spencer is right. And because jails are crowded with murderers serving life sentences, other violent criminals get released, and harm or kill innocents. How many times do you hear of a repeat offender taking someone's life? Too many times. If you, beyond any shadow of a doubt, have killed someone and it wasn't in self defense or the defense of a loved one, you do not deserve to live, you are a danger and a burden to society, and you should get the death penalty immediately. None of this long, drawn-out BS.
A person guilty of murder (caught in the act) should be put down immediately.
... What color is the sky where you live?
Wonderful. You have just identified yourself as an irrational bonehead who wants even more innocent people put to death.
Spencer
Why else would states want to emulate the death penalty practices of Muslim countries? Actually, I was making fun of those conservative states who pass legislation regarding Sharia law, but follow those Muslim countries in matters of capital punishment.
happy42xxx
The problem is not cost but deterrent...if you know you will not be executed but rather provided for by the system for the rest of your life what is to keep you from committing a crime? BTW - Oregon is a p*ssy state....
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS NOT A DETERRENT. That has been proven many times and the states that currently have capital punishment also have the highest murder rates.
Not only has your statement been disproven, it is illogical. Picture a person who is contemplating murder. Do you really believe that they ever make a rational decision whether or not to murder based on the punishment? Really? Do you think it has EVER happened ..... even once? Do you really think murdering a person is actually a rational decision? The ONLY time murder ever receives that level of introspection is when supposedly rational people choose to kill other people for punishment. So much for rational thinking
Wow - Haggis - how far off topice are you - Can Liberals read what the story is about? but to answer your question - yes he could have - you tape the mags together upsidedown - press a button and flip - I can drop and flip a mag in about 1-2 seconds so it would have added 28 seconds to the entire event - If you klnew anything about weapons you would have never asked this question - but I give you credit for trying to spread your agenda in a group that has nothing to do with the topic of guns ..
haggisbingo,
Lee Harvey Oswald shot two people (one fatally) in under five seconds with a bolt action rifle. At one fatality every five seconds, that would be 60 deaths in five minutes.
Wonder how the Gov. would feel if his wife or child were kidnapped and murdered - - oh, wait he has 24/7 protection!!!
@ Don
With todays technology the chances of innocents fried is getting pretty remote. I would say there are plenty of older cases where that may be true. Lets get real here, and tell me you want the Aurora shooter to sit in a jail and suck money out of Americans pockets, since he killed 8 or 15 people.
What a great thing to do. (shakes head)
You obviously don't understand what reality is. There are cameras everywhere. If you're caught committing murder on a police dashcam, then there is no doubt. If you did it in the plane view of multiple witnesses, there is no doubt.
It is possible for there to be no doubt, and in these cases, the only cost after the trial should be a bullet.
Justme-123
The dozen and dozens of cases op people who were wrongly conviced and set free after years in prison are really very few. With a prison population of almost five million there has been fifty to 75 that have actually been found innocent after spending time in prison. The rest of them say they are not guilty because that is how the stupid system works and this is were it costs money.
Life in prison, with no parole is the best bunch of gravy a criminal could have. TV's commputers, food and lodging, medical for life. They don't even have to take the chance of robbing someone and getting caught, because they are robbing the american public every day.
Just like you're following those Muslim countries by breathing, and walking on two legs?
The death penalty has nothing to do with Muslims.
The problem is that we allow all these endless appeals in death penalty cases. It should not take more than a decade and millions of dollars in legal fees to execute someone. Those who point to people being freed have to understand that those people were convicted before the advent of DNA testing and other improvements in forensic sciences. The current state of testing means that the odds on getting a false DNA match is so infinitesimally small that DNA is considered to be a positive identification method. The problem with repealing the death penalty is that you make it so that someone who has received a life sentence can not be punished any further. This means that they have nothing to lose from trying to escape or killing other prisoners or guards. There needs to be that ultimate penalty of losing your life so that these people have something to lose if they commit another crime. Put a stop to the endless technical appeals that make the process so costly. How many times are murders going to be allowed to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty to the Supreme Court. It has been to the court and ruled constitutional, there is no reason to allow every single death penalty case to continue to re-argue the same things that have already been decided by the courts. It is the pointless appeals that are designed only to delay the inevitable that makes it such a long and costly process.
haggis, I can change a clip in my rifle in under 2 seconds. So no, it would have taken him about 5 min., 30 sec. instead of 5 minutes.
Zappas and the Aurora shooter have something in common. Both like to decide that other people should die.
All Thanks be to GOD!
Spencer
Actually, the death penalty has more to due with Medieval thinking. I hate to think of the United States being so backward, but in this regard we certainly are.
If prison is such a picnic, I wonder why people spend so much time and money on attorneys and appeals trying to avoid it...
Hagg
"So why can't we ban semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines then too?????"
Because that's not what killed those children. A mentally ill POS did.
If those weapons and magazines never existed that sick ahole would have used some other means to satisfy his lust for death and destruction. He could have used handguns, slower but just as deadly, and he had all the time in the world. He could have made a bomb, but too messy. How about driving a car through a school crosswalk?
Oh, I forgot, it's unconstitutional to ban them.
I would suggest that you low information liberals change your short sighted objectives and work on the real problem, mental illness.
There is a growing number of disenfranchised people who feel they don't fit in society. They feel that there is no positive future (hopelessness) for them because the only things that register with them are the negative aspects of society (liberals).
These people need serious help, and possibly committed to a mental hospital, like we used to do.
People want to know why these events are happening more and more often, it's because some of those people would have hospitalized.
So don't waste time on a non issue that won't change the situation, just because it feels good. Put your time and energy into dealing with the real cause of the problem, mental illness.
The article lies. It costs(average) $32,000 a year to keep a prisoner in jail. Commit a murder at 21, get life without parole, and live to 71. 50 years times 32,000 =$1,600,000. NOWHERE in the article does it say the death penalty costs more than execution. The caption under the photo simply says
And in the body of the article it says
of course, this is a bald-faced lie. NO ONE, Hollywood to the contrary, has ever comitted a murder after being executed. Capital punishment works. The bigger question is, "Do we wish to grant the government the right to take a life other than in war?" To that, I say "NO". I want the death penalty, at the hands of the intended victim at the scene of the intended crime. Otherwise, when a killer is caught and convicted, escort him to the country's border, and boot the bastard out. If Mexico doesn't want him, they can kill him or move him on south.
The problem is not the death penalty. It is the enforcement of it. Endless appeals for no reason. Allow 2 appeals 5 years apart. If no reliable evidence to overturn it. Execute them and celebrate it. In the 1880s they returned to the death penalty and it worked. Then through the years they slowly stopped them.
It's a liberal / progressive paradox, to cherish the lives of the wicked in such a way and then support the wholesale extermination of the innocent in the womb.
Perhaps they should just call it a retroactive abortion... and support the State's right to choose.
You must realize the technology being used to find the wrongfully convicted and release them is the same technology being used today to convict the guilty and send them to prison. Also remember when other violent offenders are released to make room for lifers the cry when they murder someone is "What kind of idiot let this guy out in the first place?". Who wants to be that idiot?
Niem and Bitch
What an ignorant and thoughtless statement! Liberals, despite your beliefs, are not pro-abortion. Liberals believe that it is not our place to make decisions in those matters for other people. You, on the other hand, want to choose who should live and who should die.
Claiming that anyone supports the "wholesale extermination of the innocent in the womb" is ignorant, insulting and disgusting.
Who wants to be the one who pulled the switch on someone who later turns out to be innocent?
Let's deal with some reality here, Neale. I found a source that you might trust - Fox News. Some highlights:
An Urban Institute study of Maryland's experience with the death penalty found that a single death-penalty trial cost $1.9 million more than a non-death-penalty trial. Since 1978, the cost to taxpayers for the five executions the state carried out was $37.2 million dollars — each.
A recent Duke University study of North Carolina's death penalty costs found that the state could save $11 million a year by substituting life in prison for the death penalty. An earlier Duke study found that the state spent $2.1 million more on a death penalty case than on one seeking a life sentence.
A Florida study found the state could cut its costs by $51 million simply by eliminating the death penalty.
[California] could immediately save $1 billion by eliminating the death penalty and imposing sentences of life without parole. The alternative, if the cash-strapped state keeps the death penalty: spend $400 million to build a new death-row prison to house the growing number of prisoners.
[K]eeping prisoners on death row costs $90,000 more per prisoner per year than regular confinement, because the inmates are housed in single rooms and the prisons are staffed with extra guards. That money alone would cut $63 million from the state budget.
So much more at the link.
You can't just calculate annual prisoner costs. Even Fox recognizes that.
I find it funny how most of the comments on here want to spare the life of an individual who have committed heinous crimes, destroyed lives and families, caused untold hurt but yet can't seem to find the same passion and conviction for millions of unborn children slaughtered every year in this country. I will never understand your reasoning.
seeing the comments here. seeing the democrats and a democrat govorner is the reason this bill was passed. and seeing its those republicans who had something where death penalty if you murder a cop or child only. this is why people vote democrats man. first of all republicans are telling me they dont care if some criminal murders me, they only care if a criminal or someone murders a cop. im from new jersey, the death penalty was banned here and it was one of the biggest reliefs in our life. becuase anyone can be convicted of murder. i have never commited a crime in my life, i dont do bad things, i help others. but just becuase where im from, a crime city, anyone can be convicted of a crime. were all suspects. why should i have to be put to death penalty for a crime i did not commit? i already fear for my life every night i walk the street from work. either by a criminal or a cop charging me with a crime. now atleast i dont have to worry about death penalty but still cops murder people, still our goverment lets criminals walk the steet and rob or kill people. i should not have to suffer like this just because of where im from. i didnt choose to live where im from. i was born here. and the propasal the republicans gave all ready shows they dont care when someone kills a ordinary citizen, only when they kill a cop. yall only support death penalty so you can make money of the corrupt system we have.
The reason the death penalty does not work as a deterrent is that after the twenty years it takes to get it done, nobody remembers what was done, how bad it was, and to whom.
If they were to be done more often, publicly, and within a month, my guess is that it might have an effect on behavior.
Another victory for attornies everywhere.......yay!! I know ammo is expensive, but really, I would gladly pitch in the $1.00 per round to cover that cost, hell, maybe the cost of a cigarette, and I dont smoke. "3 strikes and your in"! Marylands new motto.
Money, money, money...Is that what EVERYONE cares about anymore? What about the value of a LIFE? So a person murdered a few people, you want to save a few bucks by letting him rot in prison for the rest of his life or would you rather see him getting what he deserves for TAKING others lives from them? Imagine if it was one of your family members or friends killed? I GUARANTEE you rather see him dead than "OH we can save the state money by letting him rot in prison!" If not, you are WAY more messed up than the murderer. Also, if it was one of my friends/family members committing a murder, Id rather see then dead than rot in prison....True story bro...
don97524,
You support women being allowed to kill their children. You are pro-abortion. Sorry if the truth is unpleasant.
Like so many others, I'm afflicted on the death penalty. I believe that those who commit henious crimes should be killed. However, too many innocent people have been killed. I guess it comes down to the latter: to save the life of one innocent human being who was falsely accused I would prefer that a million guilty ones be kept alive. We have no right to kill even one human innocent to justify the killing of a million guilty ones. But that being said, if I knew someone was guilty of causing harm to someone I love, I would be more than willing to slowly torture them to death, enjoying them pleading to be put out of their misery and not let it come. I'm a 180-degree person: I believe we must protect the right of the innocent to the detriment of all else and I believe we should make the guilty live a life of agonizing suffering with a slow, methodical death. Okay, to be honest, I oppose the death penalty to protect the innocent and to make sure the guilty are tortured in excruciating pain and not allowed to die to end it.
Burns (I won't call you mister)
Supporting choice is allowing others to make their own decisions. Some people believe that "personhood" begins with the zygote. I think that is moronic, but if that is their belief, fine. Some people believe that "personhood" begins when the fetus is capable of sustaining life outside of the womb. Who am I to say that that opinion is wrong and my opinion is right? Why should I be allowed to say that the birth defect that justifies an abortion in the mind of a mother must agree with my opinion? Why should I insist that a 13-year old raped by her uncle is required to give birth to the child that results from that rape?
Sometimes the truth is unpleasant. I find that you are unpleasant.
Enough of your perfidious denials. Every time Roe v. Wade comes up before the Court the liberal machine springs into action with pro-abortion media campaigns and astro-turf demonstrations which border on near riot.
The abortion industry performs their innocuous little procedure hundreds of thousands of times each year; is that not wholesale? Are those killed in the womb not innocent? Only liars find the truth to be "ignorant, insulting, and disgusting."
Liberals are all about regulating everyone's lives and activities. You've forgotten political correctness they use to stifle free speech, debate and opposition. Banning big cups, banning firearms, foreign intervention, and stealing the fruits of another's labor to push their ideology and fancy kibbutz living on everyone else.
Those who would not interfere in the daily lives of others are called libertarians, and they do not stoop to lowly ad hominum attacks to argue their positition either.
Actually, the death penalty has more to do with tort law than with Medieval thinking. Most people mistakenly think it is about revenge. The fundamental principle of tort law is that the injured person be "made whole." If you total my car, you must buy me a new car. If you total my child, no amount of money will bring the child back. The closest thing to making me whole is to forfeit a life that means as much to you as my child meant to me. I understand how someone might think that the forfeiture of life is too severe. I don't.
So should I allow someone to kill someone else? If a parent wants to kill their new born, by your "logic" its their decision. I value life. You should try it some time.
I am pro-choice to some degree. If you can get it done in the first few weeks before brain activity, you're not hurting anything. If it is conscience in anyway, the belief that women should be allowed to kill it, regardless of the reason is morally reprehensible.
It must be comforting to know that no matter how many people one tortures, rapes, kills-including children that in 18 states they will never have to worry about paying with their own lives. We will feed, house and provide them medical care and they will also be able to sue if they feel they have been mistreated. Life is great in the U.S. if you are a criminal.
So, Libs support banning semi-automatic guns and the death penalty, but support partial-birth abortion. Go figure.
This is a big crock of BS. The only reason the death penalty MIGHT be more expensive is because of lawyers. Not because of the cost of the actual execution.
Look...let's be sensible here. (I know that will never happen with the ultra-liberal left...but for the rest of you)...if a person is caught RED-HANDED doing a crime that DESERVES the death penalty...then he/she should get that sentence. Sooner rather than later.
For instance, when a person is caught on-camera doing a crime that results in the death of others, not only should they get the death penalty, but with the proof on camera, there is really NO reason for an expensive and pointless trial. There can be no question that the perpetrator is guilty...so sentence should be filled. And please spare me the tripe about how it is "cruel to execute a person of diminished capacity". He/she won't feel anything once they are dead. Not my problem!
Were the endless and senseless appeals to be ended, that would cut down tremendously on the "cost" of executing the death penalty. such as...in one case in Washington state, the death penalty was appealed because the murder, who robbed a bank, caught on tape doing so, ballooned from 250 to nearly 400 pounds while in prison. The argument was that when hanging him, his head was likely to be separated from his torso in the process...the defense called in 2-3 witnesses that said there was no doubt this would happen...and this would be "cruel and inhumane" punishment! BALONEY!!! If he was hung and his head didn't snap off...then the time to die could be as long as 1 minute. Much more inhumane that a quick "lights out" separation!
You want cruel and inhumane? It is the families of the perps who have to live with the fact that these clowns live on for 10-20-30-40 years after they have done their crime, and live well. further, if the criminals are aware they can NEVER be executed, then there is no reason fro them to behave in prison, since once they have a "life" sentence, not much else can be done to them. So...killing fellow inmates...no big deal!
Hang 'em, shoot 'em, inject 'em, fry 'em...I don't care...but get them out of society PERMANENTLY! Quit spending good money after bad! Personally...I don't believe ANYONE should have to be in prison more than 10 years. If you can NOT be rehabilitated within that time frame, then you can NEVER be rehabilitated, and yo are a waste of human tissue and taxpayers money, and you SHOULD be executed!
Wanna end the war on gang warfare and drugs? Start executing the punks that do both. It WILL stop...and stop within 6 months! We need MORE executions in this country, we need them to be public and we need them to be sooner rather than later!
This is to physicist_retarded. It may not be fiscally-responsible to put these f###ers to death, but it sure the hell is morally-responsible and justice all wrapped in one. If you want these murderous pigs alive so much then why don't you just hand over all of YOUR money, assets and other collateral to the state so that you won't and don't have this 'justice' on your conscience. I bet that you have no problems killing an unborn child like all the f###ing bleeding libs do, but you have a problem killing(I don't mind using the term) those $#!ts unworthy to maintain a pulse and blood pressure.
thats the biggest lie i have ever heard as (progressive) liberals love to force other to accept their views as fact and will force legislation to get their ways. a good recent example is liberal bloomberg forcing his will on the people of NY by taking away choices. if you are pro-choice then you are for legalized prostitution, drugs, suicide and anything that involves personal choice. if you are not for any one of the many personal choices that should be legal, then you are not pro-choice, you are pro-control.
has anyone asked why the death penalty would cost more than lifelong incarceration? one is an ending of life and any financial support, it should take 10 years to complete. the other is lifelong support of all functions at an ever increasing cost for their entire life, 35+ years at least. common sense and math would suggest the death penalty would cost less due the lesser time span but the reality is its all about the money.
private prisons get paid per prisoner and some are based on quotas for keeping government funding, so it is in their best interest to get as many prisoners as possible and keep them there for as long as possible to recoup investments and make profits, this is why the death penalty would be more expensive. the death penalty is not "barbaric" "uncivilized" or any such nonsense, it does serve as a deterrent if implemented properly but of course our great wonderful government at all levels cant manage a popcorn stand without major screw-ups so why would anyone think this is any different.
I have heard both the pros and cons to this particular issue, and I would like to address at least a couple. First of all cost. As was said prior, supposedly it is less expensive to keep someone institutionalized for their entire life than it is to execute them. However, we need to think about this logically. If someone is given a life sentence without the possibility of parole, imagine the costs of not only food, shelter, heating, etc of this particular individual, but especially think of the medical expenses involved later on in life. Imagine if the prisoner needed major surgery or had a major disease state. These are NOT cheap! Then we have to remember that many of our prisons are overcrowded as it is so therefor, keeping the death row inmates alive also causes problems down the line- if there is not enough room, other prisoners are more apt to leave early (whether parole or whatever) and so the other prisoners are not only doing the time they were supposed to do, but may actually be put on the streets prior to getting the help they need (Yes I do believe in rehabilitation). Lastly, I don't know where they are getting their pricing for the lethal injection, but the actual solution is relatively inexpensive. I still don't know what was wrong with using a length of rope that would cost only around $5-$10 or a 50 cent bullet but apparently we consider that to be in-humane...ask the prisoner that more than likely murdered someone if they were humane about it...but that is just my opinion. Anyway, think about how much it costs to humanely put you pet down if sadly you need to; they use the same medicine to put down your pet as they do a human being and tell me that is more expensive than overall medical costs throughout someones life (plus food etc). I have heard that you have to take into account the costs involved for the appeals, but more than likely the prisoner would try for an appeal whether he was in for life or death so that can not be taken into account. For those of you that think I am being one sided, I'm not...here is some points for the other side. If the prisoner is given life, then he/she can work inside of the prison which would make them productive citizens which actually may help with costs especially if they are able to work throughout the majority of their life. Many of the individuals can also be a mentor I guess you could say. There are many "lifers" that talk to troubled teens/young people about their mistakes and the consequences involved...trying to make a difference and trying to stop the crimes before they escalate. This could potentially save not only a great deal of money in the future prison system by keeping these kids out, but could also save some lives (not only the future possible victims, but the youth as well).
No matter which side you take there are pros and cons to the death penalty, but think about this. If this man or woman on death row killed your mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, or child...how would you feel knowing that they were able to live out their lives while your loved ones life was suddenly and unfairly taken. How would you truly feel?
Let the victim's family decide, at least that gives them a part in the process.
Burns
That is clearly NOT what I said. It is clear that a newborn is a human being. It is not clear that a zygote is a human being. I value live. What I do not value is disingenuous @!$%#s who twist the words of another person in order to make an argument. If you truly believe that a zygote is a person, fight for laws that prosecute pregnant women for child abuse if they don't follow dietary rules.
No one is advocating killing newborn babies and to suggest such a thing is only proof that you are willing to resort to any lie to promote your point of view.
Don't bother to respond .... I'm done with you.
I really don't care about the cost or the deterrent. If you take anothers life you deserve nothing less than to forfeit your own. If the case is hands down, rock solid, and irrefutable, you get one board review and then done. If after the board review there is reason to contemplate innocence, the sentence is immediately commuted to life without parole with the opportunity to appeal. The system while one of the greatest in the world is still broken and needs to be tweaked. We do not need to abolish the death penalty completely. We do however need to make it work better. We could hand down harsher penalties for violent criminals who display an inherent disrespect for human life and the sanctity of anothers person, and persons displaying sociopathic patterns in their crimes. We need to reduce or eliminate the petty crime incarcerations as they exist today, and just make it standard practice to place these folks in deterrent programs like harsh work camps, with educational programs to back them up, and use the Hard time prisons to imprison the hard core violent element until they die from old age. That way we free up needed space for the violent criminals, and separate the petty ones from them. Then we streamline the death penalty process, thereby reducing the amount of turmoil for the victims family members, the community, and the legal system in general.
We need to eliminate the criminalization of the American citizenry by all the new laws and regulations that do nothing more than generate revenue for the states and the private ownership prisons. We need to outlaw the trading of prison stocks on the stock exchange and place ALL prisons under the control and ownership of the government. This whole idea of incarcerating anyone for profit is a conflict of interest and does nothing more than open this up for corruption on a national scale. Not to mention that it is a morally bankrupt means handing down justice. We are placing our justice system and our citizenry at the risk of seeing the more petty element flooding and thus overwhelming the capacity of our jails and prisons; making the real focus of stopping and removing the violent criminals almost impossible. This is going to create a situation where we have to build more prisons, which will merely bring us right back around full circle to continue the vicious cycle. Abolishing the death penalty is not going to fix the many issues which afflict our justice system in this country, it is merely going to give the bleeding hearts a sense that they have accomplished something.
Who cares about deterrent? The only way to deter them is to eliminate them.
Way to go, Aces! Now when someone rapes, tortures and hacks a child to death you bleeding hearts will get to support and feed him for the rest of his life! What a state!
I don't have a problem with the death penalty, I have a problem with its cost. If the "politicing" can be eliminated I see no reason why we shouldn't have it.
We can not kill people... only the unseen hand kills people in Disney movies, and it's usually in a way that doesn't attribute any blame toward any character.
So we're all good noble heroes, because we can pretend the unseen Disney hand of justice will absolve us of our duty.
Is it duty to put an evil person to death? Is it better to keep them in a cage at our expense and close our eyes to 'prison justice' and let other evil men do our bidding for us?
Sure, the death penalty is expensive. Anything would be if lawyers got paid to argue endlessly over it.
If I brutally rape and kill a governor's mother and drag her severed head down the street you bet I will do it in Maryland because I already know they will take pity on me. They may even say I'm insane and then it's all just God's fault. Maybe they'd give me an early release.
don,
Clearly you dont realize that my wording with you has to do with you starting this thread with insults. Declaring people to be boneheads if they dont agree with you. You started as an ass, so I addressed you as one.
However, you clearly value a woman choosing abortion over outlawing it. Just admit you are for the killing of children if they are inconvenient. If not, then you would only be for abortion if the mother could die because of the birth.
Facts get in the way of your thinking. I understand.
Burns
Feeling insulted does not justify your lying about the issue. You clearly admit that you do not oppose abortion in the first few weeks, then accuse me, who did not even state at what phase I believe abortion should be legal, as someone who believes in killing newborns. Again, I said no such @!$%#ing thing and you are an @!$%# for suggesting that I did. How are those for facts, bonehead?
It is actually cheaper for the government for someone to get life in prison than the death penalty. Solidary confinement and appeals are very costly and it can take up to 20 years before they are put to death.
Sadly, this is true, due the endless taxpayer funded appeals and attorney's services.
Too bad in cases of clear irrefutable guilt we can't execute the guilty the next Sunday.
At least this way it will save some money - until they get old and get medical care that you, me, and the average citizen won't get to have.
...so people who get life instead of the death penalty don't ever appeal? Nice assumption.
Why would our moral and ethical code be dependent on a cost-benefit analysis?
It wouldn't. That is just one more reason to stop the bloodthirsty revenge killings. Imprison the criminals and get on with life.
Gov OMalley is right - we need to focus on bringing more criminals to justice, rather than spending so much time and resources trying to kill the ones we already have caught.
It would be cheaper to send these lifers to China, India, Vietnam, fill in the blank country, other than the US prisons. Problem solved!
revenge killing implies an emotion involved, i dont think a government entity or for-profit corporation really cares about revenge, just money and power
don and wayne -
Lock 'em up and let 'em die when they get sick.
Money and compassion are in short supply. Not to go Full Rand, right?
Liberals just don't get it. I can't believe Connecticut (home of Biden) abolished the death penalty after the horrendous case of the doctors entire family being raped, murdered and burned. Here in VA at least we get rid of some of the trash.
... and distribution of wealth solves our debt issues? Typical Left Winger.
Typical uniformed/uneducated left winger. The act of putting one of these animals to death is very very inexpensive. It's the constant abuse of the legal system that is expensive. It's people staying on death row for years and years, when there is no reason for them to ever go back to a cell after they're found guilty. Poke some lead through their skull, and get them out of the system.
0123456789... WHY SHOULD THOSE MURDERERS BE ALLOWED TO LIVE..... WHY ?????
Spencer
Right .... that Innocence Project that keeps finding wrongfully convicted people on Death Row is sure abusing the system, aren't they?
baliman
You have something important in common with those people you want to put to death. You and the murderers both want to be able to decide who lives and who dies.
Because WE are not killers - THEY are.
Yet these same people are cool with killing innocent babies.
don9, isn't a killer choosing who lives and dies? Whats good for the goose is good for the gander!
Don, heaven forbid but I would like to see how you felt if someone was convicted of killing your child.
stop
I believe I would stick to my principles. I get no pleasure from revenge and I cannot understand why anyone, even family members of the victim, would want to observe the execution.
jlm
I don't guy that "goose and gander" argument for a second. That ranks with the childhood playground argument, "He hit me first". Time to grow up and be civilized.
Burns
Stuff it. No one is "cool with killing babies". You just can't stop being a prick, can you?
don, you probably did hear that on the playground but, it still rings true as an adult. As far as being grown up and civilized, tell that to the families of innocent murder victims with a straight face.
don, these are all quotes from you.
Wonderful. You have just identified yourself as an irrational bonehead who wants even more innocent people put to death.
Why else would states want to emulate the death penalty practices of Muslim countries? Actually, I was making fun of those conservative states who pass legislation regarding Sharia law, but follow those Muslim countries in matters of capital punishment.
Zappas and the Aurora shooter have something in common. Both like to decide that other people should die.
You have something important in common with those people you want to put to death. You and the murderers both want to be able to decide who lives and who dies.
peteMT is willing to be civilized only if it is less expensive than being uncivilized.
Your facts are as bad as your grammar.
Tarzan believes that everyone who is convicted is guilty. I wonder how the very primitive Tarzan explains why people keep having their murder convictions overturned. Tarzan believes that we should just do away with that "due process" progress we have made in the justice system and go back to the old ways. I don't think that Tarzan makes any charitable contributions to the Innocence Project.
And many more. You treat everyone who doesnt agree with you as inferior, and you wonder why I say such things about you? Stop with your hypocrisy. You support people being allowed to do one type of killing, and not another. To a degree, I agree with a lot of what you say, but I dont assume myself better and smarter than everyone else, nor do I assume Im some great moral leader. Im seeing neither intelligence or morality in you, so Im gunna call you out on your bs.
You're welcome.
burns
Nice that you could do all of that research. Do some research about how you twisted by pro choice stance based on my opinion that I should not make choices for other people into accusing me of supporting newborn babies. I still say you are a liar and I could hardly care less whether you like my comments.
Oops, I left out a word .....actually I meant to say that you accused me of supporting the killing of newborn babies. But you know what you said, and you know that that makes you a liar.
Well done Maryland!
Well done from a money saving standpoint.
Only.
I will add my Well done Maryland! The government makes too many mistakes to allow them to execute anyone. If you have lots of money and can hire a good defense attorney (Like OJ - remember him) you can sway the scales of justice to your side. If you are broke then you get no bail bond and you can sit in jail for a few years before you are tried. I hear that 90% of people never get a trial as they get plea bargaining.
peteMT is willing to be civilized only if it is less expensive than being uncivilized.
Now if Maryland can become the first state to abolish abortion...
don -
I don't consider squandering resources on 'people' who don't deserve them just because they are technically 'homo sapiens' to be 'civilized.'
A civilization that does not take steps to protect and continue itself is delusional and suicidal.
Well, yeah. We've known for decades that borderline personality disorder, delinquency, criminal behavior, heroin addiction, cocaine addiction, and even various perversions are consequences of simple human pheromone deficiencies, all easily remedied. The cure for criminal behavior is 150 to 250 mg of healthy adult male facial skin surface lipid (kissing daddy pheromone) p.o. in one single dose. Turns out crime is easier to cure than scurvy--but a lot harder to convince people of even the possibility. Can you imagine? Cure for crime goes without a double-blind, cross-over, age-matched, controlled clinical trial because of what? It's insane. Anyone wanting free samples contact NicholsonScience at hotmail dot com.
Some crime's warrant the death penalty(murder, rape,priests molesting children) . Everybody can't be rehabilitated and deserve the same fate of there victims oh wait they deserve mercy and it wasn't there fault because of a rough childhood.
People who cannot be rehabilitated and/or have committed serious violent crimes warrant life in prison without parole. That is permanent removal from society.
What more could possibly be of benefit to anyone?
They are sucking up tax dollars! And many are abusing the appeals process not going to factor in the cost to feed, house and clothe, medical cost etc etc.
In Singapore, you will receive the death penalty for simply bringing drugs into the country. No jury, the drugs on your person are enough to convict. Guess what? Very little drug related crime. You can receive the death penalty for unlawful discharge of a firearm even if no one is hurt. Guess what? Very little gun related crime. Stiff penalties like that have reduced their crime rate to nearly nothing. We're already too lenient with our criminals.
G_
Why, then, are the states with capital punishment also the states with the highest murder rates?
don97524, because of the bureacratic BS that goes on after the conviction. They know there is a death penalty, but they also know theres a good chance it won't be carried out through the appeal process and if it does, not for 20+ years down the road. There is no deterrence there.
The states with the highest murder rates may also very well be the states with high population rates.
A good deterrent would be to actually put them to death shortly after they lose their first appeal. The appeal process should happen shortly after the trial and not drag on for years.
I seriously doubt the criminals are giving it that much thought.
Don, because reason dictactes that states that are more violent have more of a need for the death penalty. Simple, really.
Don, its because they are ran by the Dems.
Your facts are as bad as your grammar. Texas kills more convicts than any other state. Are they "ran by Dems"? Blue states, on average, are more likely not to have a death penalty and most likely to have a lower murder rate.
So now in 18 states a person can get away with murder. Life in prison is not really a just punishment. The criminal is still alive and may some day get released. So criminals are then getting away with murder. Our government will sometimes bomb women and children in these useless wars we have but are weak kneed and yellow to the core when it comes to putting murderers to death here in the U.S. Why is that??? A murderer should go from the court room to the gallows when convicted.
Tarzan believes that everyone who is convicted is guilty. I wonder how the very primitive Tarzan explains why people keep having their murder convictions overturned. Tarzan believes that we should just do away with that "due process" progress we have made in the justice system and go back to the old ways. I don't think that Tarzan makes any charitable contributions to the Innocence Project.
I'm sure Tarzan will still be okay with the expedited death penalty when it is his butt sitting in the chair.
No appeals for you, mister! If you got arrested, you must have done something! The State never, EVER makes mistakes...
Rasie the standard of proof and eliminate the appeals. If one life does not equal another life we are all done. Guilty murderers must be killed by the state.
William ...... doesn't your idea make all of us murderers?
How do you propose "raising the standard of proof", beyond what is in place now?
After you are given the death penalty you have 1 week for appeals then they take you out and shoot you in the head cost 1.00 for the bullet problem solved. (STOP WINING)
Man, you can't get the government to do anything for you in one week! If you are a disabled veteran just try getting some financial help from Uncle in a week.
No justice for the person who has been murdered. The criminal wins again. Who says crime doesn't pay??
Is it any wonder that Martin with a backward, and irrational view of the justice system does not know how to spell whining?
Hundreds of innocent people have had their death penalties overturned. Every time the process took much longer than a week.
Don, maybe he didnt learn to be such a pusssssy as yourself. Cost, let me help you with that, it costs less than 50 cents to carry out an execution.
Good. It's nice to see the United States catching up to the moral development of the rest of the civilized world.
I am not interested in your morals as I would imagine they would offend my morals.
In any case, the world has moved overwhelmingly toward abolition over the last few hundred years. There's definitely an emerging consensus against state executions. The US, China, and the Muslim countries are the outliers.
Alright!! All you criminals move to Maryland. What a crock of crap!!!
Don't worry so much.
There were already 17 states with no death penalty, and they aren't overrun with crime.
Nice, now we need to separate state by state, those who favor and oppose the death penalty; those who oppose the death penalty will now be financially responsible for prisoners on death row. Responsible for their meals, medical and dental care, lawyer fees and lets not leave out the cost for secondary education if the "ex-condemned" choose to pursue one. To ensure these costs are covered, all those who oppose the death penalty should sign up for payroll deductions at their place of work.
Those who favor the death penalty, with the tax burden lessened somewhat may be able to provide a little more for themselves and or family.
There are already enough criminals, let out of jail, roaming our streets :/
Yep and 2 of them are in the top ten murder rates in the country Maryland which is #4 is about to become one of them
So: Of the states with the ten highest murder rates, seven have the death penalty, and three do not. What point are you trying to make?
I guarantee the criminals are not thinking about whether or not the state in which they stand has a death penalty before committing their crimes. These arrogant a-holes usually think they will not be caught.
When is the last time anyone encountered a criminal who first considered the possible legal consequences BEFORE committing a crime? Maybe on TV...
Maryland wants murderers.
Because we all know that killers share those same thoughts
Killers don't share that belief, but that doesn't mean we should abandon it.
Let's not take our moral cues from killers.
I have a "core belief that we share in dignity of every human being". But I believe there are some things that some people can do so, they no longer deserve to be counted as human, and they need to be put down like rabid dogs.
Jackhammer.... give me ONE good reason why those 2 cretins that raped & murdered the doctors wife and 2 daughters should be allowed to live ... ONE !!!
OK.
1) The government shouldn't have the power to kill people.
There you go.
And yet liberals will defend to the end the right to abort a human being...go figure...
Jackhammer: The government shouldn't have the power to kill people you say. Does that count the Useless war in Iraq and Afghanistan where our government sent our men and women to be killed?? For absolutely NOTHING.
soooo your advocating some sort of volunteer people's justice group to carry out what the state shouldn't do?
JackhammerJohn
So if the government shouldn't be allowed to kill people, we should also repeal Obamacare. (Death panels. etc.), Abolish Abortion, Immediately destroy our Drones, Halt all wars and bring our troops home. When is that going to happen?
SMFH.
Tarzan has forgotten 9/11/01! Convenient!
JJohn, well as long as we don't take our "moral cues" from you.
“core belief that we share in the dignity of every human being.”
Except, of course, the victims that never got justice. And the rest us, who also see justice denied.
Sorry Jackhammer, but the government has the right, the duty and the responsibility to see that justice is carried out.
Let the punishment fit the crime.
baliman
Jackhammer.... give me ONE good reason why those 2 cretins that raped & murdered the doctors wife and 2 daughters should be allowed to live ... ONE !!!
Because Jesus would have wanted it to be so.
You're Welcome.
what a waste.....our gov't just keeps punishing the innocent by giving rights and entitlements to the uncontributing and policy abusers within our society. How stupid can these gov't officials get and all at the expense of the law abiding producers of this country.
Geez another idiot in office. And what about the dignity of the people that was murdered or does their lives not count. Why not just let those murderers go. Taxpayers are tired of paying for good for nothing men or women who will never contribute to society except violence. Get rid of the murderers period. Does that count for someone who kills a cop to. Government is playing double standards.
Don't worry, there are still 32 states who off people, since you seem to require that to be content.
And I take it you approve of murder then, you must be a democrat. So you call it offing people, your values and morals are totally backwards. I feel very sorry for you.
Murder is OK in Maryland. The victims? Just so much dead meat. The taxpayers? Just screwed.
But before that would mean anything we must first take all the guns away from the police; last year they short and killed 972 people, and wounded with shooting 3911, never mind the ones they killed in traffic "accidents" while chasing cell phone users, and cars with dark windows a total of 4432 last year, so who cares about death penalty by the government, when they kill people anyway almost freely, very rarely does anything happen to those killers, unless of course they killed one of their own (blue code)--Like recently in LA and a couple of other places
So Maryland believes in the dignity of all human life - well ain't that just special! Too bad that there are a lot of animals out there that do not share that belief - they want all sort of consideration after they have had NO consideration for their victims. For me, if you have guilt beyond any reasonable doubt, then give the perp one day after the trial, say their good byes, and then down the hatch. Anything less is destroying the dignity and justice demanded for the victim and their relatives.
execution is what the 331st leading cause of death in maryland? Why are we wasting time on this when the real killers like high cholesterol, reckkless driving, and drug addictions are allowed to run free on our streets day in and day out? The priorities of these soo-called "public servants" is so out of whack its horrifying to see and all they care about is putting out crap like this toi enrich themselves while the real problems that are killing their constituentsday-in and day-out are allowed to go forward unhindered? stupid moron maryland state senate i hope that you guys get mobbed in the bathroom when you go eat at dennys tonight or tommorow you fraud-baskets.
Why dont you just shut up and go eat a hamburger or something.
just because you don’t agree with the truth muse1 it doesn’t mean that anyone should listen to you, you're obviously a member of the cynical left-wing good-squad that's subtly trying to ruin this nation from within and I personally wouldn't mind seeing that same hamburger that you offered to me turned back and shoved right into your torso so hard that it knocked the wind out of you for a few seconds, maybe while you're trying to recover you can think about what actually is right and what how youre doing is incorrect and then join the side of the sane where us other people soak in a warm and evervescent sunshine of clairty and meaning but you obviously wouldnt know a thing about that you self-obssessed slum-lord douche.
Left wing, far from it, i support the death penalty and i like my hamburgers medium rare.
Hopefully one day we can all go the the government food center and pick up our government approved and prepared meals for the day. We can take them back to our government supplied living quarters and eat them while we read government approved literature or watch government approved entertainment. We can then go to our government jobs and perform them to government specifications. It will be a wonderful world!
To many caring people in this country. An eye for and Eye. You take a life, you need yours taken. It takes a gun and a couple pieces of lead, or a bathtub / shower and a toaster. Who cares if its humane, I'm sure most killers, pervs, and rapist don't think if their doing things humanely. You got to set and make and example to curve anything; once a freak always a freak.
I love my hamburgers that way too muse. Will you be my muse?
Rage - so you don't just want murderers executed - but "pervs" as well? What constitutes a perv, in your mind, that justifies the DP?
You'd think the whole "government can't do anything right" Tea Enthusiast crowd would be pretty excited about the government of Maryland losing the ability to kill people.
Jerkhammer.... you remind me of a fairy who couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag !!
Your arguments are exceptionally clear, concise, and thoughtful. How may I subscribe to your newsletter?
With Dems in office there, they'll probably use drone strikes instead of incarceration and trail ergo; no need for a death penalty.
JJ, Yes, I want the government to remove murderous human life from this earth. What is the point of keeping them in jail the rest of their life? It obvious that you don't appreaciate their life because you have them locked away, out of sight and out of mind. But, I guess you can feel good about yourself. That is the point isn't it?
Hey Governor, every human being does not have dignity. This comes from the humanist belief that man is basically a good creature. By God we should know by know that man is not basically good.
It costs too much because of bureaucratic BS. One bullet and charge the criminals family.
If someone kills another person or persons in cold blood, why should they not get the death penalty if it's beyond any doubt? Why should they live when their victims have died? Quit codling the perpetrators and as much as tell people that the victim doesn't matter?
The Death Penalty is an insurance policy the state gives us guaranteeing our right to live. However, it is not a deterrent as most people don't fear death until it is imminent. It's a sure bet the Innocence Project will find someone who has been wrongfully executed in this country in the last 30 years, and the state paying a family for a wrongful death just doesn't sound like justice to me. It demeans the state as a sovereign to claim they "must" kill someone as a matter of law. The other point is the arbitrary protection of the Death Penalty, all lives are not protected equally.
This is just another example of how man is taking over where God is supposed to be. The bible clearly states, in Leviticus24:17-22 and Genesis9:6, just to site 2 examples, that if a man takes another man life,ie. If a man murders someone , he should also be put to death-"and he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death" it is also very clear about the killing of animlas, and that if a man kills another man's animal, he must restore what was lost!
Look, if your god requires a death penalty, he surely doesn't need the help of the state of Maryland. Let him solve his own problems.
Really, Lori, you want the US government to live under Torah law?!!! I don't think you know what you are saying. You can't be Jewish and a Christian is under Grace not the law. Jackhammer John is correct. God can handle his own business after all he is Sovereign .
And your god Jack? Oh thats right, he is too busy spreading fear and hate among the people. Dividing the races and driving our nation further into debt. Destroying our freedoms. He has no problem killing babies either.
Glad I moved out of Maryland a long time ago.
And we're glad we shut and bolted the door behind your ignorant ass.
Toodles.
Speaking of leaving maryland, I heard that Beretta is leaving soon, and their taking their Benelli too. I guess this is what Democratsy looks like. If yall keep this up you will need to build a wall to keep folks from leaving just like the old DDR.
Yep Kenny, Shut the door and lock it. While your at it, build more prisons and be ready for another tax increase. No good reason to live in Maryland. But of course if you prefer communism and hypocracy, go right ahead and build another home for your ignorant ass relatives....