Capital Punishment

Legislative Priority in 2007, 2008 The League supports the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland. For so long as Maryland has a death penalty, the League supports the following reforms for its equitable and consistent application.

• uniform, statewide, criteria for death penalty prosecutions.
• changing the standard of proof in weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors in sentencing from “preponderance of the evidence” to “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
• requiring prosecutors to provide open file discovery and all favorable evidence to the defense, and to establish uniform internal guidelines for cases that are particularly subject to human error, such as those relying on eyewitnesses, co-defendants or jailhouse informants.
• having mechanisms for preserving evidence such as DNA and for introducing newly discovered evidence.
• requiring judges to explain to jurors life without parole as a sentencing option and to charge the jury to weigh mitigating factors.
• effective defense including methods to screen, appoint and supervise lawyers representing defendants charged with capital crimes, adequate compensation for public defense counsel and sufficient funding to mount an effective defense.
(2005)