VIDEOS: MD Attorney General Candidates on Campaign Trail // WATCH: Aisha Braveboy, Jon Cardin, Bill Frick & Brian Frosh

Maryland Juice decided to provide readers with a quick check-in on the state of the 2014 battle for Attorney General. As far as we know, there are still four candidates in the race: State Senator Brian Frosh and Delegates Aisha Braveboy, Jon Cardin & Bill Frick. Below we provide video footage of all four candidates speaking at various political events over the last month or so. One dynamic to keep an eye on is whether the statewide candidates for Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller begin teaming up and forming tickets. In any case, check out the campaign speeches below:


JUICE #1: SEN. BRIAN FROSH SPEAKS AT FUNDRAISER FOR SEN. JAMIE RASKIN  //  TEA LEAVES ABOUT SENATE JUDICIARY CHAIR? - Maryland Juice videotaped remarks by State Senator Brian Frosh at a recent fundraiser for his colleague Jamie Raskin. Notably, the event also featured former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Governor Martin O'Malley. In the clip below, Frosh touches on some of his legislative accomplishments from the past session, and also notes that he has high hopes that Raskin may replace him as Chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee:



JUICE #2: DEL. AISHA BRAVEBOY DISCUSSES MINIMUM WAGE AT PROGRESSIVE NEIGHBORS TOWN HALL - Last month Maryland Juice also caught remarks from Del. Aisha Braveboy on a proposed hike to the minimum wage. Braveboy's comments were made at a Town Hall meeting hosted by the Montgomery County-based group Progressive Neighbors:



JUICE #3: DEL. BILL FRICK TELLS MARYLAND YOUNG DEMOCRATS TO EMBRACE UNDERDOG CANDIDATES - Last February Del. Bill Frick spoke to Maryland Young Democrats and asked them to embrace underdog candidates. He notes that Barack Obama was considered an underdog before winning the presidency, but Frick also zings rival candidate Del. Jon Cardin noting that he lacks Cardin's famous uncle:



JUICE #4: DEL. JON CARDIN HIGHLIGHTS CYBERBULLYING & CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM AT REISTERSTOWN EVENT - Delegate Jon Cardin recently spoke at a Reisterstown Town Hall meeting and previewed some of his legislative efforts in advance of his Attorney General campaign. In the video below Cardin highlights anti-cyberbullying efforts and campaign finance reform:



MUCH MORE ON THE 2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL BATTLE SOON!

2014 RUMBLE: Anthony Brown Attacks Doug Gansler on Death Penalty // PLUS: HoCo Candidate Highlights Incumbents' Votes

The 2014 campaign season is just beginning to develop, right as the current Maryland legislative session is beginning to wind down. But already we are seeing signs of the battle royale ahead. In the last few hours, Maryland Juice has received two interesting email blasts from candidates in the upcoming Democratic primaries. Both candidates are contrasting themselves with their opponents by highlighting their own opposition to the death penalty:

EMAIL BLAST #1: ANTHONY BROWN ATTACKS DOUG GANSLER FOR SUPPORTING DEATH PENALTY - This morning Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown launched an email blast highlighting an an op. ed. he recently published in support of death penalty repeal in Maryland. But Brown's message also slammed rival gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Doug Gansler for his continued support of taxpayer funded executions (excerpt below):

ANTHONY BROWN: Last week the Maryland Legislature passed legislation abolishing the death penalty. I believe the time has come to repeal the death penalty because it is racially biased, demonstrably unreliable, and not an effective deterrent....

Supporters of the death penalty often rely on false or incomplete information to make their case. Attorney General Doug Gansler is a supporter of the death penalty and he recently attempted to argue that the death penalty was administered in a "fair" and "race neutral" manner. Regrettably, the facts show that the death penalty is anything but fair and race neutral...

Attorney General Gansler suggests that the death penalty is race neutral by stating that in the majority African American jurisdictions of Prince George's County and Baltimore City, the State's Attorneys haven't "traditionally" sought the death penalty. That is simply wrong. In Prince George's County alone, they have sought the death penalty at least 11 times over the last 20 years....

Attorney General Gansler describes the threat of the death penalty as a "wonderful tool for prosecutors" to get a confession and perhaps an eventual plea bargain from a defendant. However, the reality is when presented with the choice of confessing or being sentenced to death, even an innocent person may rationally choose to "confess." The 2008 Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment – led by former U.S. Attorney General Civiletti – found that confessions alone can be unreliable....

EMAIL BLAST #2: HOCO DELEGATE CANDIDATE CLARENCE LAM HIGHLIGHTS D12 INCUMBENTS' SUPPORT FOR DEATH PENALTY - This morning, Maryland Juice also received an email blast from Howard County Democrat Clarence Lam, a candidate for District 12 House of Delegates. Notably, D12 is currently represented by retiring Delegate Liz Bobo (a progressive) and her more conservative colleagues: pro-death penalty Democratic Delegates Steve Deboy and Jim Malone.

In addition to voting against death penalty repeal, Delegate Steve Deboy also voted against the Dream Act and marriage equality, while Delegate Jim Malone also voted against the Dream Act. But D12 has been recently redistricted to increase the influence of the liberal voters in Columbia, Maryland. Clarence Lam has apparently taken note of this fact, judging by his latest email blast (excerpt below):

CLARENCE LAM: Last week, the Maryland General Assembly voted to end the use of the death penalty as a form of punishment against criminals in our state.  As a strong proponent of the repeal of the death penalty, I applaud the delegates and senators who voted to abolish this inhumane practice.  (Click here to see how your state delegate or senator voted.)  My reasons for supporting the repeal are clear and straightforward. 

As a physician, I swore an oath to “do no harm” and committed to saving the life of everyone under my care, regardless of whether the patient was a convicted felon or accused of a heinous crime.  The death penalty is fundamentally at odds with my duty to provide life-saving care to all individuals unequivocally....  For these reasons, many advocacy groups in Maryland such as the ACLU, League of Women Voters, and the NAACP have all expressed support for the repeal of the death penalty.... I’m proud to live in a state where our progressive values continue to be enacted and urge you to support our elected officials who voted in favor of repealing Maryland’s death penalty.... 

Seeing as how neither of the Delegates seeking re-election in Clarence Lam's district supported death penalty repeal, I think his message is loud and clear.


More on the battle for 2014 soon!

Maryland Finally Abolishes the Death Penalty & Joins Civilized World // Here are the Democrats Who Voted Against Repeal

Today Maryland joined the civilized world and finally abolished its use of the death penalty. Last week the State Senate voted to repeal the death penalty (roll call here), and today the House of Delegates followed suit with a 82-56 vote in support of abolition.

It's about freaking time, people.

ON LIFE VS. DEATH, A SAD PARTY LINE VOTE - The death penalty repeal vote was (sadly) a mostly party line affair, with all but two Republican House members voting against the "pro-life" position. Only two Republican Delegates maintained consistency in their "pro-life" beliefs and joined Democrats in repealing executions: Susan Aumann and Bill Frank (both Catholic Republicans). In contrast, most Democrats voted to end state murder. But 18 Democrats joined the GOP (including one Charles Barkley from MoCo) and voted to continue using taxpayer dollars to pay state employees to kill people. You can see the Democratic Hall of Shame below. I also flagged the pro-death penalty Democrats who voted against marriage equality and the Dream Act. Interesting patterns:

GOP HOUSE MEMBERS WHO VOTED PRO-LIFE:

1. Aumann, Susan - Baltimore Co.
2. Frank, William - Baltimore Co.

DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS WHO EMBRACE VIOLENCE:

1. Barkley, Charles - Montgomery
2. Beidle, Pamela - Anne Arundel - ( also voted against Dream Act )
3. Bohanan, John - St. Mary's - ( also voted against Dream Act )
4. Bromwell, Eric - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
5. Conway, Norm - Wicomico - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
6. DeBoy, Steve - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
7. Donoghue, John - Washington - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
8. James, Mary-Dulany - Harford - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
9. Jameson, Sally - Charles - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
10. Kelly, Kevin - Allegany - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
11. Malone, Jim - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
12. Minnick, Joseph - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
13. Olszewski, John - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
14. Rudolph, David - Cecil - ( also voted against Dream Act )
15. Sophocleus, Theodore - Anne Arundel - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
16. Weir, Michael - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
17. Wilson, C. T. - Charles - ( also voted against Marriage Equality )
18. Wood, John - St. Mary's - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )

Erin Cox from The Baltimore Sun Tweeted the unofficial roll call (see full vote below):

GOP NOT PLANNING ON PETITIONING EXECUTION BAN TO REFERENDUM - Now the death penalty repeal measure heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley's desk to be signed into law -- and believe it or not, The Washington Times reported this week that Republicans appear unlikely to petition the ban on executions to referendum (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON TIMES: Maryland Republicans might concede the fight over the state’s death penalty, saying that they are unlikely to mount a referendum effort as the House prepares to grant final passage to a repeal....

In recent years, outnumbered Republicans in Maryland have used online petitions to send several controversial Democratic proposals to referendum, but the lawmaker who helped lead those efforts says he doesn’t see it happening for the death penalty....

Delegate Neil C. Parrott said he hasn’t completely ruled out leading a petition drive, but that a campaign would face long odds and might not do much to affect policy in a state where recent laws have already made it extremely difficult for prosecutors to pursue executions.

Maryland Juice hopes that Parrott and his crew of petitioners hold to these statements, because right now the only other person who desires a death penalty referendum is Senate President Mike Miller.

WE MUST PRESERVE THIS SHAMEFUL HISTORY - Maryland Juice thinks that we need to preserve the evidence of our state's shameful past and make a museum out of our soon-to-be-defunct execution chambers:

JuiceBlender: Maryland Democrats Warming Up to Marijuana, Death Penalty Ban Passes House Judiciary, Senate Passes Wind

PLUS: SENATE PRESIDENT MIKE MILLER ENDORSES MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Below Maryland Juice provides a few updates on Annapolis news items of interest to politicos, starting with a wave of updates regarding marijuana policy in Maryland. The issue has been moving quickly in recent weeks, giving me that sense that there's definitely something in the air:

JUICE #1: O'MALLEY ADMINISTRATION GIVES CAUTIOUS SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL - The Baltimore Sun today reported that Governor Martin O'Malley's administration is cautiously getting behind medical marijuana after threatening to veto the measure last year (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration withdrew its opposition to legislation allowing doctors and nurses to dispense medical marijuana to patients through academic medical centers, raising prospects for passage this year.

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the state secretary of health and mental hygiene, said Friday that the administration could support the bill but only if it gave the governor the "flexibility" to suspend the program if the federal government threatened legal action over what it still classifies as an illegal drug.... Under what Sharfstein called a "yellow-light approach" to medical marijuana, the bill would allow dispensing the drug to patients with cancer, intractable pain and other conditions.

O'Malley had threatened to veto medical marijuana legislation last year.... Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler also expressed concerns....

SEN. BOBBY ZIRKIN PUSHING BILL TO SHIFT PENALTY FOR POT POSSESSION FROM JAIL TIME TO FINE  - Maryland Juice is glad to see that Gov. O'Malley is finally coming around on this issue, but I must also admit that I see his tip-toeing toward medical marijuana as a very small "victory." After all, while medical marijuana for cancer patients is a common-sense goal, I remain far more concerned about the mass incarceration of Americans -- especially for things like non-violent drug offenses. No amount of prescription dope is going to solve that bigger social problem -- and I feel that it is perhaps one of the largest unaddressed social justice issues of our time. Indeed, our continued grandfathering of the War on Drugs into Maryland policy leads to cycles of poverty, joblessness, recidivism, student loan ineligibility and more -- disproportionately affecting people of color, and subjecting young people to harassment by law enforcement.

MARYLAND SPENDS $236 MILLION ANNUALLY ON POT ENFORCEMENT - State Senator Bobby Zirkin has a bill to address these concerns by "decriminalizing"' possession of minor amounts of marijuana, and shifting the penalties from jail time to a simple fine. Amazingly, decriminalization has already passed in fifteen other states, making it a common-sense and now mainstream policy change for those who want to get serious about ending their state's participation in the failed War on Drugs. Check out this report from The Fix website (excerpt below):

THE FIX: Could Maryland be the next state to end marijuana prohibition? Yes, according to LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition).... The bill — sponsored by Democratic Senator Bobby Zirkin — seeks to decriminalize small-scale possession in the Free State....

Pot prohibition doesn’t just generate stacks of illicit cash — it also costs a great deal, according to Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron, who says that Maryland spends over $236 million per annum on marijuana enforcement. In the current era, many are asking whether that's worth the price tag. SB 297 — which  can be viewed in its entirety here — would reduce penalties for possession to a mere $100 dollar fine.

Neill Franklin carried out narcotics work for the Maryland State Police during his 34-year career.... “The current laws force police officers in Maryland to waste hour after hour processing marijuana possession arrests,” he says. “Can you imagine how many more burglaries, rapes and murders we could solve if we put these wasted man-hours toward good use? Marijuana prohibition constitutes a serious threat to public safety." With 15 other states having already decriminalized low-level marijuana possession — and others, such as Hawaii, considering it — SB 297 looks to have a fighting chance....

DEL. CURT ANDERSON INTRODUCES BILL TO TAX & REGULATE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA - State Senator Bobby Zirkin admitted at the hearing for his marijuana decriminalization bill that he would prefer that Maryland simply legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales. A week after that hearing, Delegate Curt Anderson introduced a bill that would do just that in Maryland House. The Gazette reported on the forward-looking legislation (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: Del. Curt Anderson on Thursday introduced a bill that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Maryland, mirroring measures passed by referendum last year in Colorado and Washington.

The bill would allow Marylanders 21 and older to possess one ounce or less of marijuana, and to grow three or fewer plants in their homes. An excise tax of $50 per ounce would be collected by the state under the proposal. Plants grown at home would be required to have a state-issued zip tie attached. Each zip tie would cost $100 and be valid for one year.

Under the bill, smoking marijuana in public would be prohibited, as would driving while under the influence of marijuana. A portion of the revenue from regulating marijuana would go toward alcohol, tobacco and drug treatment. The marijuana trade would be regulated by the state comptroller’s office....

Maryland traditionally has lagged behind other progressive states when it comes to drug policy, still having not legalized medical marijuana, as 18 states and Washington, D.C., have.

SENATE PRESIDENT MIKE MILLER ENDORSES FULL-ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION - When asked by the Capital Gazette to comment on Del. Anderson's pot legalization bill, Senate President Mike Miller amazingly endorsed the proposal (excerpt below):

CAPITAL GAZETTE: Miller ... said he personally favors the “liberalization of marijuana laws,” and thinks marijuana should be regulated like cigarettes and alcohol.

“We’re incarcerating people for offenses that really I think they should be treated as very minor offenses, paying a fine,” Miller said. “But those are my personal views and I don’t think they’re the views of the majority of the Senate...”

Annoyingly, Senator Miller understands the connection between the United States having the world's largest prison population and our tacit consent for incarcerating people for simple drug possession -- yet he doesn't seem motivated to do anything about it. Why can't he summon some of that energy he used to steamroll casino expansion in Maryland to try and get this done?


JUICE #2: DEATH PENALTY BAN PASSES MARYLAND HOUSE JUDICIARY 14 TO 8 // ONE DEMOCRAT JOINED GOP TO OPPOSE REPEAL - Today the Maryland House Judiciary Committee approved death penalty repeal legislation in a 14 to 8 vote. Below Maryland Juice provides the roll call for the committee vote, but the short story is that it was almost a perfect party line vote. One Democrat, Delegate Keven Kelly (highlighted in blue), crossed over with the GOP in their unsuccessful attempts to defeat death penalty repeal. The measure now heads to the floor for a vote by the full body (sometime next week). There's still time to contact your representatives in the Maryland House and urge them to support repeal of the death penalty.

MARYLAND HOUSE JUDICIARY DEATH PENALTY REPEAL ROLL CALL

VOTED FOR REPEAL

1. Curt Anderson 
2. Sam Arora
3. Jill Carter
4. Luke Clippinger
5. Frank Conaway, Jr.
6. Kathleen Dumais
7. Susan Lee
8. Keiffer Mitchell
9. Sandy Rosenberg
10. Luiz Simmons
11. Darren Swain
12. Kriselda Valderrama
13. Geraldine Valentino-Smith
14. Jeff Waldstreicher

VOTED AGAINST REPEAL

1. John Cluster, Jr. (R)
2. Glen Glass (R)
3. Michael Hough (R)
4. Kevin Kelly (D)
5. Susan McComas (R)
6. Mike McDermott (R)
7. Neil Parrott (R)
8. Mike Smigiel (R)

DOESN'T VOTE UNLESS TIED

1. Chairman Joe Vallario

JUICE #3: GOVERNOR O'MALLEY'S WIND FARM PROPOSAL CLEARS STATE SENATE - Yet another signature initiative of Governor Martin O'Malley advanced in the State Legislature today. The Washington Post reports that the multi-year effort to incentivize creation of wind farms on the Maryland shore advanced today (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: After three years of debate, countless revisions and lots of downsizing, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s plan to subsidize development of offshore wind energy passed the state Senate on Friday, all but ensuring final approval in coming days.

The victory for O’Malley (D) on a signature environmental initiative came as his bill to repeal the death penalty advanced in the House of Delegates and as he inched toward support of a measure to legalize medical marijuana.

The passage of the offshore wind bill, which failed in each of the past two years, would allow Maryland to seek a private developer to build a field of giant turbines off the coast of Ocean City, perhaps by 2017....

ROLL CALL: Maryland Senate Approves Death Penalty Repeal 27-20 // 10 Democrats Joined GOP: House of Delegates Next!

Today the Maryland Senate approved repeal of the death penalty by a vote of 27-20. The measure now heads to the House of Delegates for approval. In the meantime, below you can see a roll call of how the individual State Senators voted.

DEATH PENALTY ROLL CALL: Two Republican Senators joined Democrats in ending legalized murder by state government employees: Allan Kittleman and Ed Reilly. They are highlighted in red below. Meanwhile, ten Democratic Senators (highlighted in blue) joined the vast majority of the Republican caucus in trying to maintain state executions. Notably the list of Democrats who joined the GOP to maintain a culture of violence includes Senate President Mike Miller, MoCo Senator Rob Garagiola, wanna-be Senate President Mac Middleton and our all-time favorite State Senator Norm Stone.

VOTED FOR REPEAL OF THE DEATH PENALTY

1. John Astle
2. Joanne Benson
3. Joan Carter Conway
4. Ulysses Currie
5. Ed Degrange
6. Bill Ferguson
7. Jennie Forehand
8. Brian Frosh
9. Lisa Gladden
10. Verna Jones-Rodwell
11. Delores Kelley
12. Nancy King
13. Allan Kittleman (R)
14. Rich Madaleno
15. Roger Manno
16. Nate McFadden
17. Karen Montgomery
18. Anthony Muse
19. Douglas J.J. Peters
20. Paul Pinsky
21. Catherine Pugh
22. Victor Ramirez
23. Jamie Raskin
24. Ed Reilly (R)
25. Jim Rosapepe
26. Ron Young
27. Bobby Zirkin

VOTED AGAINST REPEAL OF THE DEATH PENALTY

1. David Brinkley 
2. Jim Brochin (D)
3. Richard Colburn
4. Roy Dyson (D)
5. George Edwards
6. Rob Garagiola (D)
7. Joseph Getty
8. Barry Glassman
9. Nancy Jacobs
10. J.B. Jennings
11. Ed Kasemeyer (D)
12. Katherine Klausmeier (D)
13. Jim Mathias (D)
14. Mac Middleton (D)
15. Mike Miller (D)
16. E.J. Pipkin
17. Jim Robey (D)
18. Chris Shank
19. Bryan Simonaire
20. Norm Stone (D)

WBFF reporter John Rydell captured a pretty great moment in a Tweet today, when he posted the following photo of former death row prisoner Kirk Bloodsworth (aka America's first DNA exoneree):

MARYLAND GOVERNOR 2014: Atty General Doug Gansler Calls Death Penalty a "Wonderful Tool" // It's "Fair" & "Race Neutral"

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler appeared on NPR's Kojo Nnamdi show last Friday -- one day after the State Senate's judiciary committee approved an historic death penalty repeal bill. But in advance of his 2014 run for Governor, Gansler is defending the use of state executions -- in spite of the momentum for abolition of the practice. Interestingly, Gansler will be running for Maryland's Democratic gubernatorial nomination with a potential death penalty repeal referendum as the backdrop to a 2014 campaign.

GANSLER SAYS DEATH PENALTY IS WONDERFUL AND FAIR  //  PROSECUTORS CAN AVOID HAVING TRAILS: Below Maryland Juice highlights notable commentary from Doug Gansler on Maryland's death penalty system; he told Kojo the system is "wonderful," and "fair" and "race neutral."  Moreover, Gansler described how prosecutors can coerce plea deals out of defendants and avoid having to have a trial -- with, you know, evidence and stuff -- by threatening them with execution. An attorney called in to the show to call foul on that statement and Gansler appears to have not considered the idea that coerced plea bargains are an affront to our right to trial. Oy vey!

GANSLER CREDITS UNWILLINGNESS OF PROSECUTORS IN BLACK JURISDICTIONS TO SEEK EXECUTIONS AS REASON WHY DEATH PENALTY NOT RACIST IN MD: Strangely Gansler is also in favor of executing people in Maryland but goes on to say the system could still stand to be fixed. He also claims that the death penalty's success at not being racist in Maryland is due mainly to the refusal of prosecutors in Baltimore and Prince George's to seek the death penalty. But that's not much of an argument for the safety of the system. Its more of an argument to not elect pro-death penalty State's Attorneys!

GANSLER SAYS MOST DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS WOULD SUPPORT EXECUTIONS IF THE VICTIM WAS IN THEIR FAMILY: At one point in the interview, Gansler also seems to imply that death penalty opponents are being hypocritical and alleges that most of us would support executions if the victim was in our family. While some crime victim families do in fact support executions, in reality, lawmakers in Annapolis have been moved by the testimony of crime victim families who are still opposed to the death penalty.

The full transcript is available at WAMU, but I've excerpted some choice portions below. The transcript includes dialogue from Kojo Nnamdi, Doug Gansler, journalist Tom Sherwood, and some callers:

NPR'S KOJO NNAMDI INTERVIEWS DOUG GANSLER ON DEATH PENALTY

NNAMDI: A state Senate committee moved the plan forward yesterday that would abolish Maryland's death penalty.... What's your sense for the place it should have in Maryland right now?

GANSLER: Well, I think there are certain criminals who commit certain crimes that they forfeit their right to live on the planet if something that we know for sure beyond any reasonable doubt that they are, in fact, the people that committed the crime....

GANSLER: As a prosecutor, it's a wonderful tool to have because if you have that and life without the possibility of parole on the books as we do now in Maryland, you can have somebody plea to take the death sentence off the table and then the plea guilty to life without the possibility of parole....

GANSLER:  I didn't testify this year one way or the other....  my concern is if you have the death penalty to make sure that it's administered in a fair, impartial, race neutral, socio-economically neutral way. And that's what we have fortunately in Maryland.

GANSLER: This system, though, the law that we do have in Maryland certainly could be fixed....

NNAMDI: ...the head of the NAACP, that organization is very involved with this debate in Maryland. He feels ... that race is nearly impossible to detach in how the death penalty is administered. Where do you feel race fits into this conversation?...

GANSLER: In Maryland, we don't have those issues because, if anything, you're far more likely -- if you're a white defendant who has committed a capital crime, potential capital crime to get the death penalty....

GANSLER: Most of those defendants are African-American, and most unfortunately, the victims are African-American as well. But the state's attorneys, those two jurisdictions traditionally don't even seek the death penalty. So in Maryland, we have a very good system in terms of that piece....

GANSLER: ... The last point I'll make is that I find that all death penalty conversation a little troubling only because we focus so much on it when we've had five people executed last 50 years in Maryland.

GANSLER:  Most people who are against it, by the way, are for it when somebody in their family is raped, murdered and tortured, and you know who did it. So it's a very interesting issue on an intellectual level.

SHERWOOD: Opponents have vowed to take it the people for a vote. Will you take a position when it's on -- if and when it becomes something on the ballot? ... 'Cause you are expected to be a candidate for governor, you're going to have to have a position, wouldn't you?

GANSLER: Well, my position's fairly clear. I want to -- if we have a death penalty, it should be fair.... I never sought the death penalty. But I do think it's a valuable tool to have....

NNAMDI: I do want to move on to DNA. But Kathleen in Annapolis, Md., is apparently an attorney who disagrees with the notion that it's a good tool to have....

KATHLEEN: But regarding the use of the death penalty, when it's used as a negotiating tool, when it's really not a case that's appropriate for the death penalty, my concern about it -- about the use of the death penalty in cases where the reality is it would not be a death penalty case but is used to almost coerce a defendant into taking a plea guaranteeing a life sentence as opposed to the exposure to the death penalty. And I wonder if you had an opinion about that use of the death penalty. I mean, I understand you sort of...

GANSLER: Yeah. I think it's a legitimate concern. I've never actually heard that being used or an argument against the death penalty. But you can only use the tool of seeking the death penalty if the defendant is -- has committed a case that's death penalty eligible. And that's very difficult to do in Maryland because you have to prove -- they have to be a principal in the first degree.

UPDATE: Maryland Death Penalty Repeal Faces Full Senate Vote Tuesday // Senate "Judiciary" Committee Approved Bill 6 to 5

UPDATE: The Maryland Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee did indeed approve death penalty repeal legislation last night, in a 6-5 vote. As predicted, Sen. Bobby Zirkin joined his Democratic colleagues Jennie Forehand, Brian Frosh, Lisa Gladden, Anthony Muse, and Jamie Raskin in supporting repeal.

Also as predicted, Democratic Senators Norm Stone and Jim Brochin joined the three Republican Senators in opposing death penalty repeal. According to Maryland Citizens Against State Executions (MD CASE), the measure now heads to the full Senate for a vote on Tuesday. Here are a couple Tweets reporting on the big news:

STEP TWO: Let's gear up to pass death penalty repeal on the Senate Floor without amendments:

[ CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS ]

Maryland Death Penalty Ban Expected to Pass Senate Judiciary Today // Sen. Bobby Zirkin Announces Support for Repeal (!)

Yesterday Maryland Juice reported that the Maryland Senate's judiciary committee (aka the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee) was deadlocked on death penalty repeal. We further noted that State Senator Bobby Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat, was the swing vote on the 11-member committee.

Amazingly, The Washington Post's John Wagner reported late last night that Sen. Bobby Zirkin has announced he will support repeal of the death penalty in Maryland! Check out this excerpt from the WaPo coverage:

WASHINGTON POST: Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) said Wednesday night that he plans to vote in favor of repealing Maryland’s death penalty, which means the measure now has the support of a majority of members on a key committee.... A majority vote by the committee would allow the bill to move to the full Senate, where there appears to be enough votes for passage....

“From an emotional standpoint, I want to kill these people myself,” Zirkin said. “But that’s a different question than whether, legally, the state should be involved in their death....” Zirkin’s support provides a clearer path to passage for the legislation.

Original version of the repurposed photo above available at Maryland Reporter.

You can thank State Senator Bobby Zirkin at: 

bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us

Senator Zirkin's wife Tina also deserves some credit on this win. She's been lobbying her husband to support #MDrepeal. Thanks Tina!

STEP TWO: Let's gear up to pass death penalty repeal on the Senate Floor without amendments:

[ CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS ]

THURSDAY: Death Penalty Vote in Maryland Senate Judiciary // PREDICTIONS: Sen. Bobby Zirkin = Key Swing Vote & More!

With a key vote coming on Thursday, Maryland Juice decided to provide an update on the effort to repeal the death penalty in the Free State. If a majority of State Senators support an end to executions in Maryland, Senate President Mike Miller promised he would find a way to bring the measure to the floor for a vote by the full membership. And though a sufficient number of State Senators have now indicated they will support repeal, the dynamics and backstories are not as simple as it would seem. Below we highlight a few elements of the complicated legislative maneuvering going on in Annapolis:

• STEP 1: PASS REPEAL IN SENATE JUDICIARY (AKA CONTACT SEN. BOBBY ZIRKIN)
• STEP 2: PASS REPEAL ON SENATE FLOOR WITHOUT AMENDMENTS
• STEP 3: PASS SAME REPEAL BILL IN HOUSE WITHOUT AMENDMENTS
• STEP 4: HIRE A GOOD LAWYER (NOT ATTY GENERAL DOUG GANSLER)

STEP 1: PASS DEATH PENALTY REPEAL IN SENATE JUDICIARY (AKA CONTACT SEN. BOBBY ZIRKIN NOW) - The reason why Mike Miller's intervention was thought to be necessary for death penalty repeal to advance is that the bill is originating in the Maryland Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee, where it has always faced an uncertain fate. So if a majority of Senators wanted to get rid of the death penalty but simply couldn't get the judiciary committee to release the bill, Miller promised to intervene and bring the measure for a floor vote. We never heard what legislative tactic Miller would employ to achieve this result, but there is now a good chance death penalty opponents may not need to bypass the Senate judiciary after all. But this all depends on whether or not State Senator Bobby Zirkin will join death penalty repeal opponents.

JUDICIARY WHIP-COUNT? - Indeed, there will be a vote on repeal in judiciary this Thursday, and it is currently unclear what will happen. But if the whispers Maryland Juice hears are correct, a likely snapshot of the current committee whip-count on death penalty repeal is as follows:

POTENTIAL SUPPORTERS OF DEATH PENALTY REPEAL ON SENATE JUDICIARY:

1. Sen. Jennie Forehand (DEM)
2. Sen. Brian Frosh (DEM)
3. Sen. Lisa Gladden (DEM)
4. Sen. Anthony Muse (DEM)
5. Sen. Jamie Raskin (DEM)

POTENTIAL OPPONENTS OF DEATH PENALTY REPEAL ON SENATE JUDICIARY :

1. Sen. Jim Brochin (DEM)
2. Sen. Joseph Getty (GOP)
3. Sen. Nancy Jacobs (GOP)
4. Sen. Chris Shank (GOP)
5. Sen. Norm Stone (DEM)

ON THE FENCE:

1. Sen. Bobby Zirkin (DEM)

SEN. BOBBY ZIRKIN UNDECIDED ON DEATH PENALTY REPEAL // CONTACT HIM ASAP - Maryland Juice visited the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last week and had the opportunity to discuss death penalty repeal face to face with State Senator Bobby Zirkin. He indicated that he is undecided on the issue and apparently, his wife and rabbi are lobbying him to support death penalty repeal. Maryland Juice encourages those who want to end executions in Maryland to contact State Senator Bobby Zirkin ASAP and explain your feelings on the issue:

Sen. Bobby Zirkin
bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us 
(410) 841-3131

STEP 2: PASS DEATH PENALTY REPEAL ON SENATE FLOOR WITHOUT AMENDMENTS - Let's get real about death penalty strategy for a second. Right now, we have the votes in the Senate to pass a repeal bill, assuming that the bill can make it to the floor for a vote. There are currently two routes to advance the bill in the Senate: a) pass it in the Judiciary committee, or b) Sen. Mike Miller intervenes and finds a way to send it to the floor. For many reasons, it is far preferable to have the repeal bill advance through Judiciary than to have to rely on the assistance of Mike Miller. Remember that Sen. Mike Miller is a supporter of death penalty executions and will likely try and tamper with (aka amend) the bill before seeing it through to its destined passage.

SEN. MIKE MILLER TRYING TO SABOTAGE DEATH PENALTY REPEAL? - Even while he pledged to "allow" the bill to be voted on by the full body, Senate President Miller predicted that the death penalty ban would be petitioned to a referendum. What he didn't mention is that he was planning on intervening to try and increase the likelihood of a 2014 referendum on the death penalty. WAMU reported on Miller's backdoor efforts to subject death penalty repeal to a popular vote in 2014. Indeed, Miller is trying to placate the progressive majority in his caucus while undermining their efforts at the same time (excerpt below):

WAMU: ...Senate President Mike Miller, a supporter of the death penalty, expects a repeal of it to pass his chamber this year — something that did not happen when the measure last made it to the Senate floor in 2009 — getting to that point is still not a guarantee.

A part of this year's bill includes an appropriation, which means it wouldn't be able to petitioned to a ballot referendum for voters to decide, and Miller wants that changed.

"It's a subterfuge to avoid having it petitioned to referendum," Miller says. "And, although I don't like to see bills petitioned to referendum, I don't believe in trying to thwart the constitution and the laws of the state which allows for petitioning to referendum...."

MIKE MILLER WANTS TO STRIP FUNDING FOR CRIME VICTIMS OUT OF DEATH PENALTY REPEAL BILL - What's going on here is that in Maryland, residents can subject laws passed by the state legislature for repeal votes -- but only if they do not concern appropriations. Whether a law is sufficiently about "appropriations" to prevent it from being petitioned to a popular vote is a subject of great debate. But some are skeptical that dedicating the taxpayer savings from death penalty repeal to crime victims is sufficient for the bill to avoid a referendum. Indeed, this matter would need to be heard by a court in Maryland to decide on this issue.

As a result, Sen. Mike Miller wants to remove funding for crime victims from the death penalty repeal bill. He is willing to engage in such an underhanded and callous tactic in order to foreclose the very small possibility that Maryland courts might invalidate an effort to subject death penalty repeal to a popular vote.

If you agree with me that Maryland's death penalty represents:

1. murder by state government employees paid for with our tax dollars
2. an ineffective crime deterrent & an expensive way of expressing our feelings
3. a symbol of humanity's vengeful & violent side, unbefitting of codification into law

...then hopefully you understand why the idea of subjecting a ban on murder by the state government to a majority vote seems a bit distasteful. After all, when philosophers and social scientists ruminate on the pros and cons of the initiative and referenda processes in various states, they often fear the effects of so-called "mob rule." But in this instance, Miller literally wants to preserve the right of the pitchfork mob to execute prisoners (using state employees and resources). 

SENATE PRESIDENT TRYING TO UNDERMINE HIS OWN CHAMBER'S POWER TO LEGISLATE? - It may well turn out that we are heading to a death penalty referendum in 2014, especially if the GOP activists again decide to spend their time working on distasteful causes. But the idea that the Senate President would facilitate such a diminution of his own Chamber's powers is perplexing and disappointing. The bloodlust is strong in our Senate President.  Death penalty repeal advocates will need to stop Miller and his allies from trying to amend the bill. All signs indicate they will try and alter the legislation in ways that will increase the likelihood of the effort being subjected to a popular vote. This in turn means that advocates like myself will end up spending countless hours fighting the pitchfork mob in 2014. There are better things we can be working on, so please help prevent this scenario from unfolding. Tell your Senators to support the repeal bill without negative amendments.

MIKE MILLER ALREADY PLANNING DEATH PENALTY EXPANSION AFTER 2014 - It seems absolutely clear that Miller is just going through the motions on death penalty repeal, given that the Senate President is already plotting ways to expand the death penalty in Maryland. The Associated Press (via WBOC) recently reported on Miller's plans to make the death penalty more likely to execute innocent people in Maryland (excerpt):

AP: In 2009, lawmakers decided to restrict the death penalty to murder cases with DNA evidence, videotaped evidence or a videotaped confession.

If voters end up rejecting repeal, Miller says the law should be changed to allow capital cases with fingerprinting or photographic evidence as well.

Last month the College Park Patch also reported that Miller wanted to expand the types of crimes eligible for the death penalty in Maryland. Their coverage gives a taste of the types of ridiculous amendments Miller may try and make for the death penalty repeal bill (excerpt below):

COLLEGE PARK PATCH: While some Maryland legislators want to debate the repeal of the death penalty there is one category of murder Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller would like to add to the list of capital punishment eligible cases.

Miller said Wednesday that he'd like to expand the add teacher killers to the list.... Miller said he has six sisters who are teachers.... "So when we take up this bill, I'd like to see [teacher killers] added to the list of prescribed penalties," Miller said....

STEP 3: PASS DEATH PENALTY REPEAL IN THE HOUSE - Once death penalty repeal passes in the Senate, we'll have to repeat this whole saga in Maryland House of Delegates. But let's park that discussion for now.


STEP 4: HIRE A GOOD LAWYER (NOT ATTORNEY GENERAL DOUG GANSLER) - So let's say we are able to pass death penalty repeal out of the Senate's judiciary committee; and let's further imagine that we are able to preserve funding for crime victims in the bill. Let's also assume that an identical bill passes in the Maryland House.

At this point, there will be a decent chance that Republican activists will try and subject death penalty repeal to a referendum in 2014. In that case, those who support repeal will need a good attorney to argue that the repeal bill is not subject to referendum. Unfortunately, the chief lawyer for the State of Maryland cannot be trusted to argue this case. Indeed, Attorney General Doug Gansler is a supporter of the death penalty, and at last check Gansler was arguing that he could make the death penalty not be applied in a racist manner.

Good luck stamping out racial bias within juries, between neighborhoods and in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion! If Gansler can solve those human problems, then he may deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, rather than the Maryland Governor's mansion.  

#NotHoldingMyBreath

Virginia's Executioner Speaks Out: State Employee Paid to Kill 62 People Almost Kills Innocent Man // Meet Maryland Exoneree

CURIOUS ABOUT THE FACE OF DEATH PENALTY IN MARYLAND - In the last week, Maryland Juice has been hoping to find information about the state employees who run Maryland's death penalty system. I've been trying out to figure out how many people in total our state is paying to participate directly in executions, including the employees who prepare the gurney and execution chamber, procure or requisition the poisons used to kill the prisoner, and ultimately insert the needle and administer the lethal dose. This information is not easily found, so if anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it: david@marylandjuice.com. Indeed, I have been trying to imagine the faces of Maryland's bureaucratic executioners, and it is making me really curious to see who it is that we last paid to do the killing in our state.

TWEETCHAT TUE 2/12 AT NOON - In the meantime, if you are curious about some aspect of the death penalty in Maryland, Equal Justice USA and Amnesty International are hosting a Tweetchat to answer questions at noon tomorrow (Tuesday, February 12, 2013). Just follow the #EndMDDP hashtag to join the conversation:

Join us tomorrow at noon for a tweetchat on #MDRepeal. Follow #EndMDDP tomorrow at 12pm to follow and participate! #DeathPenalty

VIRGINIA'S EXECUTIONER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS 62 KILLINGS & AND THE INNOCENT GUY HE ALMOST KILLED - Given my recent curiosities I was intrigued to wake up this morning and discover that Virginians now know exactly who has been doing their killings for them. The Washington Post had a very worthwhile profile piece on the state employee who served as executioner for 62 Virginia inmates. The former corrections officer is now opposed to the death penalty and faces feelings of guilt for the more than five dozen premeditated killings he committed. Apparently he came within days of executing an innocent person. I hope you'll check out the fascinating full piece (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST:  Jerry Givens executed 62 people....  “If you knew going out there that raping and killing someone had the consequence of the death penalty, then why are you going to do it?” Givens asked. “I considered it suicide....”

Ultimately, though, it was a man he didn’t execute who would make the biggest impression. Earl Washington Jr. was sentenced to death in 1984 in the rape and killing of a 19-year-old mother of three in Culpeper.

Washington, who has an IQ of about 69, admitted to the killing, although many of his answers were inconsistent with the facts of the case. Just days before his scheduled execution in 1985, lawyers secured a stay based on doubts about his guilt.... After testing with a more advanced forensic science, Washington was cleared and eventually granted an absolute pardon, making him the first person on Virginia’s death row to be exonerated by DNA evidence....

The DNA testing “was a scientific process totally outside the system that said, ‘You’ve got the wrong guy,’ ” said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center and an opponent of the death penalty. “The fact that you had the entirely wrong person was a revelation to some people.”

The man who would have been Washington’s executioner was one of them. Givens said the case shook his faith in the justice system. He came within days of putting an innocent man to death. “If I execute an innocent person, I’m no better than the people on death row,” Givens said....

NEW YORK TIMES PROFILES MARYLAND DEATH ROW EXONEREE - A fitting complement to today's Washington Post piece is a  recent New York Times' recent profile of Maryland death row exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth. Check out the full NYT profile online (excerpt below):

NEW YORK TIMES: Twenty years ago, [Kirk Noble Bloodsworth] walked out of a Maryland prison, the first inmate in the nation to be sentenced to death and then exonerated by DNA....

In 1984, he was a former Marine with no criminal record who had followed his father’s profession as a waterman on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. A woman glimpsed on television a police sketch of the suspect in the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl outside Baltimore. She thought it looked like her neighbor Kirk, and she called the police.

From there, with the police and prosecutors under intense pressure to solve the crime, it was a short route to trial, conviction and a death sentence.... “I was accused of the most brutal murder in Maryland history,” Mr. Bloodsworth, now 52, told the church audience. “It took the jury two and a half hours to send me to the gas chamber.”

Only after nine years in the state’s most decrepit and violent prisons did Mr. Bloodsworth, through his own perseverance and some aggressive lawyering, manage to get the still-novel DNA test that finally proved his innocence in 1993.... 

Prosecutors and jurors ignored glaring problems with witnesses — two were boys who did not pick Mr. Bloodsworth out of a lineup — and dismissed five alibi witnesses who testified that he was home at the time of the murder.

“The adversarial system doesn’t know who’s guilty or who’s innocent,” Mr. Bloodsworth said. “The millstone does not know who’s under it....”

More on the movement to ban state executions in Maryland soon!

Bill Frick Announces Run for Attorney General at Young Dems Event // Gansler Says He Can Make MD Death Penalty Not Racist

Maryland Juice has spent this lazy Saturday morning trolling the #MDpolitics feed on Twitter, and lots of developments have been brewing! Below we highlight a few tidbits from today's Young Democrats of Maryland Statewide Convention, which features speeches by 2014 candidates for Governor and Attorney General. Check out our news round-up constructed from Tweets:

JUICE #1: DELEGATE BILL FRICK ANNOUNCES RUN FOR MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL - Maryland Juice previously noted that Delegate Bill Frick was exploring a run for Attorney General in 2014. The District 16 Democrat recently hired a former campaign worker for Rep. John Delaney and admitted he was seriously weighing a run for AG. Today he spoke at the Maryland Young Dems convention and straight-up announced he was indeed pursuing a run for statewide office in 2014:

I asked a source in attendance whether Delegate Frick hedged his announcement at all, and they responded: "He didn't hedge.  He talked about underdog campaigns and compared the power of the law to the power of legislating.  Lobbyists can't protect you from the law."

Notably, Frick currently represents District 16 in Montgomery County, alongside another candidate for Attorney General, Senator Brian Frosh. This development has two obvious effects: 1) there will now be at least two open Delegate seats in D16, and 2) politicos will be watching to see if Frick and Frosh end up cannibalizing the Montgomery County vote. There is obviously the potential for them to appeal to voters outside of MoCo, but we don't yet know how this will all play out.


JUICE #2: ATTORNEY GENERAL DOUG GANSLER QUESTIONED OVER CLAIM THAT HE CAN MAKE THE DEATH PENALTY NOT RACIST - Maryland Juice previously noted that 2014 gubernatorial candidate Doug Gansler was a supporter of the death penalty, and the issue of course came up during the Young Dems convention today. Gansler was asked about his support for executions by Maryland state employees, and the gubernatorial candidate stated that he thought he could make the death penalty not be racist. Check out the Tweets discussing this topic from Young Dems in Baltimore, College Park, MoCo and more:

More on Maryland's 2014 Statewide Primaries Soon!

JuiceBlender: Death Penalty Repeal Has Enough Votes, Prince George's Aims to Copyright Kids' Book Reports, Tea Party Sanity

PLUS: Chamber of Commerce Under Fire for Opposing Increase to $7.25/Hour Minimum Wage

Below Maryland Juice highlights updates on several hot-button legislative fights going on in Annapolis:

JUICE#1: MARYLAND DEATH PENALTY REPEAL HAS ENOUGH VOTES TO PASS // SENATORS JOHN ASTLE & RON YOUNG EXPLAIN THEMSELVES - Maryland Juice caught exciting updates on Maryland's death penalty repeal effort in The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun this week. The two papers reported that State Senators John Astle and Ron Young decided to back death penalty repeal, thereby giving the effort enough support to pass a floor vote in the State Senate (excerpts below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Proponents of repeal of the death penalty have picked up a potentially pivotal vote in the Senate with the decision of Sen. Ronald N. Young of Frederick County to support an end to executions in Maryland....

Young narrowly won election in 2010 in a district that previously sent a conservative Republican to the Senate.  But he said he wasn't concerned about political fallous from his vote.

"My district's not as conservative as some people think it is," he said. "If it's a moral issue. I vote the way I think is right...."

The Washington Post highlighted Sen. John Astle's reasons for supporting repeal of the death penalty, and they also included a full accounting of the twenty-five Senators who we can thank for finally making murder by state employees illegal in Maryland:

WASHINGTON POST: Two more Maryland senators have said they will support a bill to abolish capital punishment, giving the measure backed by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) more than enough expected votes to clear the chamber.

Sen. John C. Astle (D-Anne Arundel) said in an interview with The Post on Monday that he plans to vote in favor of repealing Maryland’s death penalty. And Sen. Ronald N. Young (D-Frederick) also plans to vote for repeal, The Baltimore Sun reported Monday....

Astle, who is planning to run for re-election next year, said he wasn’t sure how his stance on capital punishment would affect his prospects.

"I’m going to be 70 years old in two months," he said. "If I can’t say what I believe and vote the way I believe, then what good am I?"

Maryland Senate Supporters of Death Penalty Repeal (via Washington Post)

1. John Astle (D-Anne Arundel)
2. Joanne Benson (D-Prince George’s)
3. Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore)
4. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George’s)
5. James DeGrange Sr. (D-Anne Arundel)
6. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore)
7. Jennie Forehand (D-Montgomery)
8. Brian  Frosh (D-Montgomery)
9. Lisa Gladden(D-Baltimore)
10. Verna Jones-Rodwell (D-Baltimore)
11. Delores Kelley (D-Baltimore County)
12. Nancy King (D-Montgomery)
13. Richard Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery)
14. Roger P. Manno (D-Montgomery)
15. Nathaniel J. McFadden (D-Baltimore)
16. Karen Montgomery (D-Montgomery)
17. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s)
18. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Prince George’s)
19. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s)
20. Catherine Pugh (D-Baltimore)
21. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George’s)
22. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery)
23. Edward Reilly (R-Anne Arundel)
24. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s)
25. Ronald Young (D-Frederick)

WE'RE NOT THERE YET // ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING ON VALENTINE'S DAY - Even though the votes are lining up in the Maryland Senate, there's still a lot of game left in this fight. Maryland Citizens Against State Executions is asking supporters to flood the state legislature for public hearings on Valentine's Day, February 14th:

MD CASE: On February 14 two important hearings will happen on the bill to abolish Maryland's death penalty. We need to fill both rooms (simultaneously) to show the legislators how important it is that death penalty repeal happen THIS YEAR!

Governor Martin O'Malley is expected to lead off the testimony in both houses, so there will be lots of press, and lots of energy and excitement.

We hope you can be there to witness history in the making!

When: 1PM, Thursday Feb. 14  (arrive by 12:30 to get through security)

Where: Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing room
2 East Miller Senate Building, 11 Bladen Street,
Annapolis, MD 21401-1991

or

House Judiciary Committee hearing room
Room 100, House Office Building, 6 Bladen Street
Annapolis, MD 21401-1991

Parking: Parking is hard to come by in Annapolis; we advise using Gott's Court Parking Garage, 25 Calvert St., Annapolis, MD 21401. Cost will be around $11.00.

Have questions? Contact our office at 301-779-5230 or email us at info@mdcase.org.  

JUICE#2: PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD TRYING TO CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHTS FOR STUDENT ART AND BOOK REPORTS - The Washington Post recently raised red flags about an alarming proposal being debated at the Prince George's County Board of Education. Apparently the school system is seriously thinking about trying to claim they own the copyright to things including school children's art and book reports (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: A proposal by the Prince George’s County Board of Education to copyright work created by staff and students for school could mean that a picture drawn by a first-grader, a lesson plan developed by a teacher or an app created by a teen would belong to the school system, not the individual.

The measure has some worried that by the system claiming ownership to the work of others, creativity could be stifled and there would be little incentive to come up with innovative ways to educate students. Some have questioned the legality of the proposal as it relates to students.

"There is something inherently wrong with that," David Cahn, an education activist who regularly attends county school board meetings, said before the board’s vote to consider the policy....

After having fought greedy copyright trolls in Congress and also having them attack this blog, I can personally attest to the rampant abuse of the spirit of copyright law today. I seriously hope the Prince George's school board members reject this ridiculous proposal. What kind of a lesson are we trying to teach our kids? P.S. Some folks I know have started a website to petition against this effort: www.DontCopyrightMe.com

JUICE#3: OMG, MARYLAND JUICE SUPPORTS LEGISLATION SPONSORED BY TEA PARTIERS // WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ON CIVIL LIBERTIES? -  They say a stopped watch is still correct twice a day, and on certain civil liberties that saying may apply to the Tea Party. Maryland Juice recently stumbled upon legislation (HB558) being sponsored by Tea Party members that I actually support. Drunk-boating, anti-gay lawmaker Don Dwyer and a handful of Republican Delegates are sponsoring the "Maryland Liberty Preservation Act of 2013" which would prohibit state agencies and employees from aiding the United States in detaining people under the National Defense Authorization Act. Specifically, the lawmakers appear to be attempting to protect Marylanders from being unconstitutionally detained without trail by the Feds:

ACLU CALLS INDEFINITE DETENTION OF CITIZENS UNCONSTITUTIONAL: As we have previously noted, Democrats in Congress have been continuing high profile Bush/Ashcroft-era assaults on civil liberties under the well-worn and vague justification of fighting terrorism. The group of Maryland Republicans are specifically protesting the U.S. government's claims that it can indefinitely detain citizens without trial, and they are trying to prohibit our state from participating. The ACLU thinks the U.S. government's actions are unconstitutional:

ACLU:  In December 2011, President Obama signed the 2012 NDAA, codifying indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law for the first time in American history. The NDAA's dangerous detention provisions would authorize the president - and all future presidents - to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison people captured anywhere in the world, far from any battlefield. The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.

Under the Bush administration, similar claims of worldwide detention authority were used to hold even a U.S. citizen detained on U.S. soil in military custody, and many in Congress now assert that the NDAA should be used in the same way again. The ACLU believes that any military detention of American citizens or others within the United States is unconstitutional and illegal, including under the NDAA. In addition, the breadth of the NDAA’s detention authority violates international law because it is not limited to people captured in the context of an actual armed conflict as required by the laws of war....

CONGRESS GUTS EFFORTS TO BAN INDEFINITE DETENTION OF U.S. CITIZENS WITHOUT TRIAL - The Huffington Post reported that last December, Senator Diane Feinstein tried to fix this assault on our constitutional rights, but the effort was gutted and watered-down in typical Congressional fashion (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: Congress stripped a provision Tuesday from a defense bill that aimed to shield Americans from the possibility of being imprisoned indefinitely without trial by the military. The provision was replaced with a passage that appears to give citizens little protection from indefinite detention.

The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 was added by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), but there was no similar language in the version of the bill that passed the House, and it was dumped from the final bill released Tuesday after a conference committee from both chambers worked out a unified measure.

It declared that "An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States apprehended in the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention...."

The new provision appears to do little, because the Supreme Court has already declared that the writ of habeas corpus -- requiring that someone be presented to a judge -- applies to all people. The more difficult part of whether people deserve a trial remains unsettled, and the new provision does not appear to resolve it....

WHEREFORE ART THOU DEMOCRATIC CIVIL LIBERTARIANS? // REJECT JOHN BRENNAN AS CIA CHIEF - Meanwhile, Obama has also nominated a CIA chief (John Brennan) who believes that the U.S. government has the right to kill American citizens in drone strikes, with the flimsiest of evidence:

DANA MILBANK (VIA WASHINGTON POST): Brennan is the architect of the drone warfare program, an extraordinary assertion of the executive’s powers. In this new, hidden warfare, unelected officials, without the blessing of a court, or anything else, order killings of suspected terrorists - even American citizens, perhaps on U.S. soil.

It’s an expansion of presidential authority crying out for congressional oversight, and this week was the Senate’s big chance to explore in public the policy of targeted killing using unmanned aircraft. But the only drones in evidence Thursday afternoon at Brennan’s confirmation hearing were the lawmakers on the dais. 

Did the Democratic protection of civil liberties end with Sen. Russ Feingold's departure from the Senate? It seems increasingly true that the libertarian right is far more vocal about protecting individual liberties than my fellow Democrats. Things that make you go hmm.


JUICE#4: MARYLAND JUICE OFFERS $30 REWARD FOR A MIKE MILLER 3D STATUE - Bryan Sears at the Towson Patch reported yesterday that legislators in Annapolis had the opportunity to witness a demonstration of 3D printing technology by making small statues of State Senators. Sears also noted that Maryland Juice was interested in acquiring a Mike Miller statue (seriously, I am interested!):

PATCH: It's not a statue in front of the office building that bares his name but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller did receive a bust of himself this week courtesy of the Regional Manufacturing Institute....

The technology is similar to what was used in a scene of Jurassic Park 3 where a copy of a velociraptor's larynx was recreated. The institute offered legislators in Annapolis the opportunity to have themselves scanned into a computer and get busts of themselves....

David Moon at Maryland Juice issued a $30 reward for anyone who could procure him a bust of the Senate president. No word on if he's landed one.....

REWARD IF FOUND: If you are one of the owners of a rare Mike Miller 3D statue, I am offering a $30 bounty: david@marylandjuice.com.


JUICE#5: ADVOCATES FOR MINIMUM WAGE HIKE CHALLENGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHIEF TO TRY LIVING ON $7.25/HOUR - The Baltimore Business Journal reports that advocates of a minimum wage are challenging the head of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce to actually try living on the current $7.25/hour rate (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL: Raise Maryland, a group supporting an increase in Maryland’s minimum wage, wants Kathleen Snyder, CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, to spend a day living as a minimum-wage worker.

The Chamber opposes the concept of raising the hourly minimum wage in Maryland from the current $7.25 an hour, said Mathew Palmer, a lobbyist for the Chamber....

Raise Maryland said Snyder should spend a day riding public transportation to work, bringing her lunch to work and buying clothes and other necessities on layaway, as minimum-wage workers do, according to a statement from the organization....

Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have higher minimum wages than Maryland, said Matthew Hanson, campaign coordinator for Raise Maryland.

Maryland Juice also noticed a photo on @RaiseMaryland's Twitter feed showing them protesting for a minimum wage hike outside of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce office:

Sen. Brian Frosh Highlights Cash Lead for Attorney General // Del. Jon Cardin Talks Obesity, Speed Cameras, Clean Elections

Maryland Juice just received an email blast from State Senator Brian Frosh providing an update on his work in Annapolis, and also highlighting the status of his campaign for 2014 Attorney General. He notes that he has raised much more money than his rivals and that 90% of his $390,000 war chest was raised after President Obama was re-elected last November.

We've also been receiving a steady drumbeat of press releases and issue papers from Delegate Jon Cardin, another candidate for 2014 Attorney General. Below we highlight Cardin's comments on obesity, campaign finance reform, and speed cameras. Cardin and Frosh are currently jockeying to win the 2014 Democratic Primary and also face competition from Delegates Bill Frick and Aisha Braveboy. 

JUICE #1: SEN. BRIAN FROSH'S EMAIL BLAST HIGHLIGHTS FUNDRAISING LEAD FOR 2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL -

Dear Juice,

This is an update on the 2013 regular legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly and my exploration of the race for Attorney General in 2014.

The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, which I chair, will be at the forefront of key public policy issues during the current session of the state legislature. A few of these issues are presented below.

Gun Violence:  The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut made it clear that as responsible public officials and as a civil society we must reduce the potential for tragedy as a result of gun violence. As a longtime proponent of sensible gun legislation, I am proud to co-sponsor Governor O’Malley’s comprehensive Firearms Safety Act. In addition, I have introduced several other bills designed to prevent criminals from gaining access to dangerous weapons. These are common-sense measures designed to make our children, families, and communities safer. You can listen to my recent interview on WAMU here.

Death Penalty:  Although executions have been suspended in Maryland since 2006, the law permitting capital punishment remains. This finally may be the year that we see a full repeal in our state. Governor O’Malley has put his weight behind a repeal initiative, along with the NAACP and other advocates for repeal. I strongly support the repeal efforts.  

Pit Bulls:  In April 2012, the Maryland Court of Appeals rendered a decision (Tracey v. Solesky) that left many dog lovers in Maryland upset. The ruling declared pit bulls to be inherently dangerous and made pit bull owners, and their landlords, strictly liable for injuries inflicted by these animals. A recent agreement among key legislators led to the introduction of SB 160 and HB 78. These bills are fair to victims, landlords and pet owners. They set reasonable standards for dog owners and victims in dog bite cases, regardless of the dog’s breed, and make clear that landlords and other third parties are not liable for damages, unless they knew, or should have realized, that the dog was dangerous.

After announcing the formation of an exploratory committee last fall for the 2014 election for Attorney General, I have visited every region of Maryland meeting with citizens, political leaders and groups to discuss the issues confronting our state. At the end of the annual reporting period on January 9, 2013, the Citizens for Brian Frosh Committee reported more than $390,000 cash on hand. This amount is more than twice as much as anyone else currently considering the race. The largest share of these funds—90%—was received in the nine-week period after the re-election of President Obama and before the filing deadline. I’m very grateful for, and very encouraged by, the generous support I have received from my friends and the valuable advice I have received.

I will keep you up to date on the progress of the 2013 legislative session as well as any developments in the 2014 race for Attorney General of Maryland. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. If you would like to join the Brian Frosh for Attorney General Exploratory Committee, or would be willing to help in any way, please visit www.brianfrosh.com.

Many thanks,

Brian

JUICE #2: DEL. JON CARDIN WEIGHS IN ON MULTIPLE ISSUES -

#1 - MARYLAND MUST TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC

By Delegate Jon S. Cardin

73.4% of males in Maryland are overweight or obese. Healthcare costs have risen by $28.5 billion since 1997. According to the Coalition for a Healthy Maryland, the estimated percentage of overweight or obese males in Maryland came in at a mind blowing 73.4%. The Coalition also told us that since 1997, when obesity was recognized as a major public health problem in America and specifically in Maryland, our total healthcare costs have risen by almost $28.5 billion and are expected to increase another $3.3 billion by 2015.

Further, chronic obesity has been directly linked to conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and certain types of cancer. Each year, these diseases, which are often times preventable, cost the State hundreds of billions of dollars. We cannot simply accept that Maryland will follow much of the rest of the nation into morbid, money draining obesity. I know that we can do better.

Maryland could prevent that $3.3 billion increase in healthcare spending if Marylanders began to make healthier life style choices. Some actions are to quit smoking, exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet and remain stress free. With so many internal and external pressures – ill nutrition, smoking, skipping exercise and engaging in unnecessarily stressful activities become the rule and not the exception.

One option to create healthier lifestyles is to monetarily incentivize healthy lifestyle choices. Given all the pressures to engage in negative lifestyle choices, creating a positive pressure to live healthy lifestyles may be just the intervention Maryland needs. There finally appears to be the critical mass of support necessary to create a pilot “Healthy Maryland” program for State employees, retirees and their families. With 78,000 employees, a Healthy Maryland pilot program could begin to turn the tide on Maryland’s obesity and healthcare spending epidemic.

Last week, I introduced a bill in the Maryland House of Delegates to create just such a pilot program. The one year pilot program is designed to create small monetary incentives for state employees and their families to live healthier life styles.  The idea is that if employees enroll in approved programs that promote exercise and weight loss or smoking cessation, they will save themselves and the state millions of dollars in healthcare each year. Specifically, the State will pay each employee $50 for enrolling and completing qualifying healthy lifestyle programs up to a maximum of $150 per year.

This program is not rocket science. It is already done in Canada, Texas, California and even Gaithersburg. This trailblazing bill makes Maryland’s focus on healthcare interventions pro-active instead of the failed reactive approach. I believe that many individuals who are on the margins can and will make positive lifestyle choices if given the opportunity; all they need is a small boost. This bill offers them that boost. I ask that the Governor, my colleagues in the Legislature and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene join me in passing this forward thinking legislation.

#2 - CARDIN, COLLEAGUES AND ADVOCACY GROUPS TO HOST CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ELECTION LAW REFORM RALLY 2/7 @ 11AM

January 31st – Delegates Jon Cardin, Sandy Rosenberg, Elizabeth Bobo and Senators Joanne Benson and Bill Ferguson along with invited guests Common Cause Maryland, Maryland PIRG, Public Citizen, Progressive Maryland, the League of Women Voters and others will host a rally in support of campaign finance and election law reforms on Thursday February 7, 2013 at 11am on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis. The speakers will highlight upcoming legislation that increases transparency in campaign contributions, tempers the influence of large donors by closing the LLC loophole, expands early voting centers and opportunities, allows for same day voter registration in early voting and publicly funds local elections.

In a statement Delegate Cardin said, “I am thrilled to be joined by so many coalition partners and my colleagues from the House and Senate fighting for sunshine in campaign finance and expansion of the franchise to more eligible voters through simple, common sense laws such as same day voter registration and more stringent disclosures for large campaign donations. Ever since the Citizens United ruling, there has been a groundswell of grassroots support for long overdue campaign finance and election law reform. We must keep this momentum going and pass this important legislation immediately!”

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#3 - CARDIN’S INTRODUCTION OF COMPREHENSIVE SPEED CAMERA LEGISLATION IS IMMINENT

January 23rd – Delegate Jon Cardin has crafted comprehensive speed camera legislation that addresses the significant problems in the current system while ensuring that citations are issued for the safety of schoolchildren, construction workers, bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists instead of for monetary gain.

The continued use of the so-called “bounty” or fee per ticket program by Baltimore City and other jurisdictions is unacceptable. Existing law states the practice of bounty programs is illegal but somehow, the counties have skirted the law on multiple occasions. Bounty programs undermine public confidence in the system by incentivizing camera operators to issue more tickets instead of ensuring safety and accuracy. Accordingly, Cardin’s bill closes the loophole jurisdictions have adopted to do an end-run around current State law.

Further, this bill is the only proposed legislation that holds speed camera operators responsible for the flaws in their systems. For every erroneous ticket issued, a $1,000 fine will be assessed to the camera operator. Delegate Cardin said, “I believe that if speed camera operators are going to make millions of dollars on the backs of our citizens, they must be held responsible for the accuracy of their cameras.

I am committed to making sure the program is fair to everyone and that citizens have complete confidence that the goal is safety over revenues. To this end, my proposed legislation requires a 30 day notice period for each new speed camera installation.”  Any violation recorded during this 30 day period will be enforced only as a warning. Finally, this bill creates a verifiable, two time stamped photo system that accurately demonstrates if driver was speeding, so that the driver can fairly and effectively challenge any erroneous violations in court.

Of the many speed camera bills being introduced this session, this bill is the most comprehensive and that it goes to the core of the significant problems in statewide speed camera programs.  My hope is that everyone in Baltimore and around the State will feel comfortable that they are being treated fairly and equally on the roadways.

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 More on the 2014 Attorney General Race soon!