The issue of death penalty repeal is quickly creating dividing lines in Maryland politics, and just as with marriage equality and the Dream Act, many progressive politicians have been quick to announce their support for abolition. Conversely, many of the same lawmakers who created problems for immigration reform and LGBT rights are quickly expressing their support for continued government murder (see eg Delegate Pat McDonough).
Below Maryland Juice highlights two endorsements on the death penalty issue. The first piece is an editorial from The Washington Post, while the second is a press release from Republican Delegate Pat McDonough (aka "That Guy With the Speak English Lawnsign"). The two items represent diametrically opposed views on the death penalty:
OPINION #1: WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL BOARD:
By the grace of state Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has been handed a second chance — probably his last — to abolish the state’s death penalty. He should seize it.... The puzzling news is that Mr. O’Malley, though he remains as opposed to capital punishment as ever, is balking.... Without a push by Mr. O’Malley himself, the status quo will remain unchanged and Maryland's death penalty will remain on the books.
...even if the machinery of death is frozen, there are good reasons to abolish it for good and to eliminate a costly, unjust and dysfunctional system....
The arguments against capital punishment are refreshed and strengthened every time a capital conviction is overturned. In September, Damon Thibodeaux was freed after 15 years on Louisiana’s death row — the 18th convict released from prison after analysis of DNA evidence. As long as the death penalty exists, the nation risks committing the gravest of injustices: killing innocent people.
News Conference
Friday, January 11, 2013, 2:00 PM
310 Lowe House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
Delegate Pat McDonough Offers
5 Bills Mandating Death Penalty
Delegate Pat McDonough will introduce 5 bills that mandate the use of capital punishment in the case of mass murder, murder of a law enforcement officer or correctional officer, contract murder, or serial killer.
At a time when the Governor and liberal members of the General Assembly are attempting to abolish the death penalty, Delegate Pat McDonough believes they are moving in the wrong direction. “The recent mass murder of children in Newtown makes it clear that a capital punishment remedy is necessary. I find it hard to believe that the Governor, or any member of the General Assembly, would support the idea of an assassin of innocent children to be granted life without parole. It would be unthinkable that the taxpayers and victims’ families be subjected to paying for the existence of this type of murderer for decades after the slaughter of these innocents. Moreover, according to Maryland law, a mass murderer could be found to be insane and eventually released into the community. Also, that same mass murderer, according to Maryland law, is a convicted felon and would be eligible to vote,” McDonough concluded.
There are approximately 3,400 convicted murderers in the Maryland prison system. Many are not serving life without parole and will be back on the streets through early release programs. These same murderers would have been eligible for a college degree obtained in the system which would promote another form of early release for them. However, Delegate McDonough successfully passed an amendment on the floor of the House of Delegates during the last session prohibiting convicted murderers from participating in the prison college early release program.
Over the years, the Maryland General Assembly has become ‘criminal friendly’ by promoting early release programs and other policies that benefit offenders. Recently, the Governor and legislators made it easier for convicted murderers to receive automatic parole without the confirmation of the Governor. Public safety and crime victims’ rights have been relegated to second class citizenship. It is hypocritical for the elected representatives of the people to engage in vigorous advocacy for gun control and abolishing the death penalty while, at the same time, not providing serious help regarding protection of the public. Gun laws and killing the death penalty only benefit the criminals. If the Governor and the General Assembly are honest, they will guarantee that this year’s debate will broaden into a serious discussion about crime, gun violence, revolving door justice in our prison system, and real solutions. “I intend to fight hard to generate an honest and serious debate on these issues,” promised Delegate McDonough.
DEATH PENALTY REFERENDUM IN 2014? - Maryland Juice has been following the surging possibility for death penalty repeal in the 2013 legislative session in Annapolis. Senate President Mike Miller (a death penalty supporter) made waves by announcing he would find a way to bring the issue to the floor for a vote if Gov. Martin O'Malley (a death penalty opponent) lined up the needed votes. We also reported that the current whip-count was within one or two votes in the State Senate, and yesterday Mike Miller predicted that the repeal effort would ultimately succeed. In comments that appeared in The Capital Gazette, Miller also suggested the death penalty repeal bill could end up on the ballot in 2014 (excerpt below):
CAPITAL GAZETTE: A ban on the death penalty is likely to pass at least the state Senate, that chamber's president said after concluding the first day of business at the General Assembly on Wednesday.... Miller predicted the resulting law will be petitioned to the ballot for the November 2014 elections.
"I think it will go forward. There are people that can be persuaded," said Miller, himself an advocate of capital punishment for certain crimes, such as killing police officers or correctional officers....
EFFECT ON 2014 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY - If Mike Miller is right, the death penalty could create very interesting crosscurrents in the 2014 Democratic Primary. We can surely expect campaigning on the issue will start to ramp up, and the issue will almost certainly draw a hot-button aura similar to the ones surrounding the Dream Act or marriage equality during the referenda votes last November.
As a result, Maryland Juice decided to interview the four remaining Democrats running for Governor in 2014 and see where they stood on death penalty repeal.
Below Maryland Juice highlights exclusive commentary from Lt. Governor
Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler, Delegate Heather Mizeur
and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman. We asked each would-be Governor
whether they planned on supporting death penalty repeal this year, and
here's what they (or their spokespeople) had to say:
EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY FROM 2014 GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES
ON THE MARYLAND DEATH PENALTY
LT. GOVERNOR ANTHONY BROWN:
Our justice system in Maryland is strong, and full of men and women who work each and every day to keep Marylanders safe. Yet it is also prone to inaccuracy and – occasionally – bias. As public servants, we have a responsibility to acknowledge the flaws of this system, even as we seek to improve it.
That is why I favor lifetime sentences as an alternative to the death penalty. In an imperfect system, it is the only way to prevent the wrongful execution of an innocent defendant.
Nothing is more important than the protection and safety of all Marylanders, and we will remain committed to tough and appropriate punishments for those who are convicted of serious crimes. But as we work towards a stronger, more just Maryland, we must do so while continuously searching for solutions that ensure that justice is served while also protecting the innocent and wrongfully convicted.
ATTORNEY GENERAL DOUG GANSLER (VIA SPOKESPERSON):
The Attorney General will not be actively participating in the death penalty debate in 2013. His focus will remain that if we continue to have the death penalty in Maryland, that it be administered in a fair and race neutral, socio-economically neutral manner.
DELEGATE HEATHER MIZEUR(VIA SPOKESPERSON):
Delegate Mizeur strongly supports a full repeal of the death penalty. It is one of her top priorities for the 2013 session.
HOWARD COUNTY EXEC KEN ULMAN:
There are some heinous crimes for which capital punishment is an appropriate penalty, as recent national events remind us. At the same time, there are legitimate and well-documented challenges with implementing a fair, just and error-free capital punishment system. I will continue to seek the counsel of trusted members of the legal community, friends, victims, scholars and others as I evaluate whether Maryland's criminal justice system should be altered to exclude the death penalty.
SUMMARY: Based on the statements above, it sounds like Lt. Gov. Brown and Del. Mizeur will be supporting repeal in 2013, while Attorney General Doug Gansler remains a fan of state executions. Gansler has historically been a public proponent of the death penalty, stretching back to his time as State's Attorney in Montgomery County. Howard County Exec Ken Ulman seems to support the death penalty but is perhaps keeping an open mind. The infographic above reflects my assessment of the gubernatorial field on this issue.
WHIP-COUNT UPDATE: The Washington Post confirmed the rumored whip-counts showing a close vote in the Maryland Senate. More importantly, WaPo started naming wavering legislators and new recruits for abolition (excerpt below):
WASHINGTON POST: The Post identified 23 likely Senate votes for a repeal bill, one short of passage. But an additional four members have said they would consider supporting O’Malley-backed legislation, which is also a priority this session for the NAACP and the Catholic Church....
The Post’s count of likely Senate votes to repeal the death penalty includes 19 members who co-sponsored a similar bill last year, one senator who voted for a repeal bill previously in committee and two -- Sens. James E. DeGrange Sr. (D-Anne Arundel) and Edward R. Reilly (R-Anne Arundel) -- who voiced their support in interviews in recent days....
The count also includes Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s), who was unavailable for an interview but has told colleagues that he is inclined to support a repeal bill.
Four other senators interviewed by The Post expressed mixed views and said they are open to hearing arguments by opponents. They include Sen. Allan H. Kittleman (Howard), the only Republican in his chamber to join a majority of Democrats last year in supporting same-sex marriage legislation....
Others who acknowledged being open on the issue include Sens. John C. Astle (D-Anne Arundel), Ronald N. Young (D-Frederick) and Katherine A. Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County).
MOVEON.ORG PETITION FOR ROB GARAGIOLA: Notably, State Senator Rob Garagiola's name does not appear in The Washington Post's round-up of persuadable legislators. Indeed, Maryland Juice previously suggested that Montgomery County Democrats contact Sen. Rob Garagiola and encourage him to support the end of state murder. Garagiola is currently listed as the only Montgomery County supporter of the death penalty in the State Senate but was recently endorsed by numerous progressive organizations in his run for Congress last April, including CASA, MoveOn, NEA, Human Rights Campaign, SEIU, Sierra Club, and the League of Conservation voters. You may be wondering why I'm listing groups that don't pertain directly to the death penalty, and that's simply because there's a reason we call it the progressive movement. The existence of a philosophical tie between these issues is perhaps more obvious to those who work at the national level and see the issue correlations and coalitions that emerge around federal legislation.
But even still, its not too much to push local Democrats in super-safe districts to get with the program. Folks involved with all of these aforementioned groups -- and who are also anti-death penalty progressives -- should be tapping Garagiola on the shoulder about this issue. It seems like we are constantly having to ask legislators to evolve on social justice issues when these Democrats would suffer no political consequences for helping move the needle for progressive issues. What gives?
Many issues of interest to a potential Attorney General are already being hotly debated at the start of the 2013 legislative session. Most observers, for example, can sense that gun control and the death penalty will be among the more emotional issues discussed by Annapolis lawmakers this year. But with only two more legislative sessions and a scant 18 months until
the June 2014 Democratic Primary for Attorney General, would-be
candidates are beginning to jockey on the issues. Below Maryland Juice highlights comments from two Democrats who are actively and publicly exploring bids for the AG office: State Senator Brian Frosh and Delegate Jon Cardin O'MALLEY CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY REPEAL IS WITHIN TWO VOTES: Governor Martin O'Malley confirmed to the Daily Record today that death penalty opponents are within two votes of securing enough support for repeal in the State Senate (excerpt below):
DAILY RECORD: Gov. Martin O’Malley says he’s confident the state Senate is within two votes of supporting a repeal of capital punishment in Maryland.
Meanwhile, national groups, such as Color of Change (an African American grassroots action group) are now getting involved in the issue and sending out action alerts. Given the sudden legislative movement for death penalty repeal, Maryland
Juice decided to conduct quick email interviews with both Cardin and
Frosh. The death penalty is an interesting topic to help voters understand candidates, since the practice is intertwined with Maryland's law enforcement officials. Accordingly, we asked both interviewees for the Attorney General job whether they would be supporting death penalty repeal, and how they saw the role of the AG's office with respect to state executions. See their responses below:
MARYLAND JUICE EMAIL INTERVIEWS WITH
2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES:
SEN. BRIAN FROSH & DEL. JON CARDIN
MARYLAND JUICE: Can you please tell readers whether you are supporting death penalty repeal in 2013? What do you think the AG's role is/should be on this issue?
SEN. BRIAN FROSH: I support repeal of the death penalty, as I have for many years. I will, again, be a cosponsor of the bill. The office of the Attorney General is a bully pulpit from which past Attorneys General, like Joe Curran, have advocated repeal. But it is up to the General Assembly to make policy. I hope that repeal can be accomplished before the 2014 election and that the issue will be academic after that.
DEL. JON CARDIN: I have supported abolishing the death penalty in Maryland in the past. In short, it bankrupts our judicial system, disproportionately affects African Americans, and does little to deter crime. While I acknowledge the moral argument for retribution, I believe government has a higher duty to fairness and equal protection under the law for all citizens.
Nevertheless, the Attorney General takes an oath to uphold the laws of the state of Maryland. Furthermore, the Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting all death penalty appeals, so as long as the death penalty is on the books, as the Attorney General, I would execute the office to the best of my ability and vigorously prosecute all death penalty appeals. Interestingly, in upholding the law, the Attorney General should use all its resources to keep Marylanders safe, and protected. Therefore, from policy, fiscal and pragmatic perspectives, the death penalty may detract from that goal.
The Attorney General is responsible for advising the General Assembly and the Governor on the best course of action regarding all legal matters. As the chief legal officer of the state, the Attorney General has a vested interest in a policy that is cost-effective and has the greatest chance of protecting every person in the state. Abolishing the death penalty frees up millions of taxpayer dollars to devote to better transparency, fairness and protection from threats of all kinds, including violent crime.
CARDIN & FROSH TANGO ON HOT-BUTTON ISSUES // SPEED CAMERAS ON THEIR RADAR: It appears that both Senator Frosh and Delegate Cardin agree that Maryland should repeal the death penalty this year. But that's not the only issue they agree on. Maryland Juice just noticed that both Frosh and Cardin are promoting laws to reign in abuses by speed camera manufacturers. State and local governments have been ramping up photo tickets during the recession, and numerous Marylanders have become irate at persistent news coverage indicating that camera manufacturers are reaping massive windfalls from false or erroroneous tickets. Check out the pair of dueling press reports below from WJLA and CBS News:
WJLA: A portion of each $40 speed camera ticket goes back to the vendor. It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the distribution can be as much as 40 percent.... Driver Kim Naylor said, "I think it's a kickback. I think it's not good...and they shouldn't do it. That's how I feel about it." In fact, Maryland State Senator Brian Frosh says lawmakers never wanted the camera companies to get a per ticket bounty. But somehow cities are using a supposed loophole, and Frosh wants it to stop....
Ij response to the issue, Frosh is trying to prohibit speed camera manufacturers from receiving a commission for every ticket they issue a driver. Not to be outdone, here comes Delegate Jon Cardin on the same issue, but his proposal is to issue fines to camera manufacturers who issue erroneous tickets:
CBS NEWS: A state lawmaker proposes punishing speed camera companies for the giving out of bogus tickets after reports of camera glitches at a handful of Baltimore City cameras.
In response to complaints about speed camera accuracy, [Del. Jon Cardin] proposes each county be required to audit their speed camera system for errors, holding contractors accountable. He says each inaccurate ticket should result in a $1,000 fine.
Maryland Juice will try and keep tabs on other issue developments in the 2014 Attorney General Race. But up next, we will soon be releasing commentary from the field of candidates for 2014 Governor about the death penalty. More soon!
Below Maryland Juice highlights a few coming events that may be of interest to politicos, starting with a Towson event highlighting death penalty repeal in 2013:
GERALD STANSBURY/MD NAACP: Four of [the Senate Judiciary committee's] 11 members are from Baltimore County, a large, predominantly white area that borders a large, predominantly African-American urban jurisdiction. Baltimore County is also the jurisdiction that has produced the overwhelming majority of death penalty prosecutions in the state. It is no coincidence that that the four Baltimore County legislators are all "no" votes on allowing the death penalty repeal bill to go to a floor vote....
But unlike some of their elected officials, a core of Democratic Party members in Baltimore County appear to support death penalty repeal and are hosting an event with a Maryland death row survivor in Towson next Tuesday, January 8th. Morever, at least some of them are beginning to call out their elected officials on this social justice/human rights issue. Below you can check out one reader's Facebook post that recently appeared on the Facebook page of the Central Baltimore County Democratic Club (CBCDC). The message (below) urges people to contact State Senators Bobby Zirkin and Jim Brochin about the death penalty. You can also find details on the CBCDC death row exoneree event below:
JANUARY 8TH MEETING –
IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE ISSUES 2013
Our meetings will be held at the Democratic Party Headquarters at301 Allegheny Ave. in Towsonuntil further notice. (Entrance in the back.) Socializing begins at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7 pm.
Please join us for roundtable discussions of important issues that will confront the Maryland Legislature in its upcoming session.
1)REPEAL OF THE DEATH PENALTYKirk Bloodsworth will join us to tell the story of his wrongful convictions for murder. For those of you who have not heard Mr. Bloodsworth's personal story of how he was convicted twice of a crime he did not commit, and sentenced to the death penalty, we can assure you it is a harrowing tale that will have a profound impact.
2) HYBRID SCHOOL BOARD Laurie Taylor-Mitchell and Julie Sugar, two founding members of ABC Schools: Citizens for an Accountable Baltimore County School Board will let us know about the developments in the effort to create a partially elected school board in the County.
3) OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY Tom Carlson, Maryland Campaign Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network will give an update on the status of the development of wind energy in Maryland. He will also be able to address other environmental concerns.
Maryland Juice has seen Kirk Bloodsworth speak before and suggests that this event would be a worthy use of time for readers in the Towson area.
EVENT #2: DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S PAC HOSTS JAN 12 CANDIDATE TRAINING W/ REP. DONNA EDWARDS- The Democratic Women's PAC is hosting a candidates training at UMBC on January 12th. Rep. Donna Edwards will be presenting, along with several area political consultants and elected officials. Details below:
Please join us for a unique Women's Candidate, Campaign and Leadership Training hosted by the Young Democrats of Maryland Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's PAC of Maryland on January 12th from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm at UMBC.
Our comprehensive campaign and leadership training will offer women candidates, campaign staff, current elected officials and young women looking to break in to politics an opportunity to learn the art and science of campaign strategy from some of the most successful women consultants in their respective fields.
We will also be featuring Keynote Speaker Congresswoman Donna Edwards and a panel discussion with Maryland's elected women leaders including: Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegate Susan Lee, Delegate Ariana Kelly, Delegate Mary Washington, Montgomery County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, Howard County Councilwoman Courtney Watson, Cambridge Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley and others.
So I guess Montgomery County Councilmember Phil Andrews is moving forward with a run for County Executive in 2014.... At least, that's what the new website at PhilAndrews.com is telling me:
Right now he is the only one of the candidates with a website actually naming the office of County Executive. But it is still a tad early, and so we expect other candidates to roll out their online personas soon enough.
CANDIDATES BEGIN IMAGINING CAMPAIGNS FOR PHIL ANDREWS' COUNCIL SEAT - Maryland Juice is aware of a few possible candidates for Phil Andrews' County Council seat. Notably, the District 3 seat encompasses terrain that includes municipal officials in Rockville and Gaithersburg. In MoCo's past, city officials have periodically attempted to make the leap to County office. We will soon report on the emerging field to replace Phil Andrews at the County Council. In the meantime, you can check out a map of the district below. MoCo describes District 3 as follows:
"Located in central Montgomery County, District 3 includes Gaithersburg, Rockville, Washington Grove, Leisure World, and parts of Aspen Hill, Derwood, North Potomac and Potomac. District 3 is home to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Rock Creek Regional Park, part of Seneca Creek State Park, and the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center (including Shady Grove Adventist Hospital). Bisected by I-270 and Route 355, District 3 is served by several MARC commuter rail and Metrorail stations, including the Shady Grove Metro station."
As Maryland's legislature gets back into gear for 2013, death penalty abolition is moving back into the spotlight. Below we provide a quick status update on the repeal effort, which seems to have gained new steam after high-profile wins for the Dream Act and marriage equality revealed a deeply progressive electorate in Maryland. A few weeks ago Governor Martin O'Malley hinted he might consider making another attempt to get the death penalty off the books in Maryland, and now members of the state's liberal advocacy community are gearing up for a push. Meanwhile, the NAACP has pledged to make abolition in Maryland their top priority this year, promising to open a dialogue that could shine the spotlight on numerous other racial disparities and embarrassingly ineffective policies embedded in our criminal justice system.
JUICE #1: SENATE PRESIDENT MIKE MILLER PROMISES DEATH PENALTY FLOOR VOTE IF A REPEAL BILL CAN PASS
- Those who find the idea of murder by the government to be disgraceful are busy firming up votes to end the death penalty in The Free State. The reason for the sudden surge of activity is that The Baltimore Sun reported last night that Senate President Mike Miller pledged to find a way to bring the death penalty for a floor vote if the bill had enough support to pass (excerpt below):
BALTIMORE SUN: "If [Gov. O'Malley] shows me the votes, if he's got the votes on the floor of the Senate, then we'll find a way to move it forward," Miller said in an interview.....
Jane Henderson, executive director of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, welcomed Miller's statement. She said death penalty opponents have had enough votes in the full Senate for repeal since the 2010 elections....
Speaker Michael E. Busch has said the House, which has not voted on full repeal in recent years, will take up the issue only if the Senate acts....
JUICE #2: DEATH PENALTY REPEAL WILL BE A CLOSE VOTE // HERE'S HOW MOCO SENATORS PLAN TO VOTE - Though sources following the issue are optimistic that there is now enough support to repeal the death penalty in Maryland, some are still indicating that the current whip count looks very close on the issue. At least one knowledgeable source thinks the success or failure of repeal this year may well come down to a single vote in the Senate, where 24 votes are needed for passage of legislation. Our source is also skeptical that Maryland politicians would bring the death penalty for a vote in 2014 (an election year); that means its now or perhaps never for abolitionists.
Further compounding the urgency is that we have no idea what will happen in the next gubernatorial election, but right now we have a Governor who supports repeal. The current round of candidates to replace O'Malley in 2014, on the other hand, are a mixed bag on this human rights issue.
So with the Governor already on our side, and a new pledge for a Senate floor vote, its game time. We need to round-up twenty-four Senators in order to clear the first hurdle on the road to repeal. That means we will need all eight of Montgomery County's State Senators to hang together and pledge an early vote for repeal in 2013. We can't afford to have a Sam Arora-like incident on this issue, because we may not get another chance like this. Maryland Juice is currently constructing a whip-count of Montgomery County lawmakers on this issue to make sure we have our house in order. For now, I'm starting with the State Senate, but as the legislative session moves forward, we'll later post information about the House of Delegates, too. In any case, I've contacted all eight of MoCo's Senators and received responses from a few of them. For those I haven't yet heard from, I've researched their past positions on this issue and included them below. Here's my summary:
Senator Jennie Forehand: NO RESPONSE YET // SUPPORTED REPEAL IN 2009 & 2010
Senator Brian Frosh: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
Senator Nancy King: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
Senator Rich Madaleno: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
Senator Roger Manno: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
Senator Karen Montgomery: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
Senator Jamie Raskin: CONFIRMED SUPPORT FOR REPEAL IN 2013
CONTACT SENATOR ROB GARAGIOLA & ASK HIM TO SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY REPEAL - So by the looks of it, if you live in Montgomery County right now the best thing you can do to help advance death penalty repeal is to contact State Senator Rob Garagiola and ask him to support the end of murder by the state government. A pair of 2009 Baltimore Sun articles list Garagiola as the sole death penalty supporter from Montgomery County, placing him alongside many Republican State Senators like David Brinkley and Alex Mooney and old school social conservadems like Mike Miller and Norm Stone (who voted to ban interracial marriage). But unlike for Norm Stone or Alex Mooney, we think there is hope for Garagiola. Please reach out if you have a moment:
STATE SENATOR ROB GARAGIOLA
James Senate Office Building, Room 104
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3169 (toll free)
fax: (410) 841-3607
e-mail: rob.garagiola@senate.state.md.us
JUICE #3: NAACP BLASTS SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HOLD-UP OF DEATH PENALTY REPEAL: Maryland Juice recently noted that Senate President Mike Miller (a supporter of government executions) was tinkering with the membership of committees to try and advance stalled wind power legislation. So on Sunday, we suggested that the same tactic should be considered for the Judiciary Committee, where death penalty repeal efforts have previously stalled.
GERALD STANSBURY // MD NAACP: Anyone who has followed the effort to repeal the death penalty in Maryland knows that the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is the last obstacle needed to bring it to a long-overdue floor vote....
Despite Maryland's 31 percent African-American population, the committee has only one African-American member out of 11, Sen. Lisa Gladden of Baltimore. This is inexcusable for a group that oversees the death penalty, not to mention the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity, zero-tolerance policing and the use of SWAT teams....
Four of its 11 members are from Baltimore County, a large, predominantly white area that borders a large, predominantly African-American urban jurisdiction. Baltimore County is also the jurisdiction that has produced the overwhelming majority of death penalty prosecutions in the state.
It is no coincidence that that the four Baltimore County legislators are all "no" votes on allowing the death penalty repeal bill to go to a floor vote.... Every African-American senator in Maryland has signed a letter urging the repeal of the death penalty. These senators understand that in a state where nearly half of all murders go unsolved — the majority in predominantly African American neighborhoods — wasting our scarce funds on the death penalty is ineffective and unacceptable.
It's time for Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller to change the makeup of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee....
SIDEBAR: SEN. ANTHONY MUSE BUMPED OFF OF FINANCE COMMITTEE AND PLACED ON JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - Today Senate President Mike Miller did indeed increase the number of African Americans on the Judicary Committee. The Washington Post reports that Miller switched Prince George's Democrat Anthony Muse from the Finance Committee to the Judiciary Committee, but the switch was unrelated to the death penalty repeal effort and won't result in any additional votes for repeal. Muse (a death penalty opponent) is replacing another anti-death penalty lawmaker on the body (excerpt below):
WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert) confirmed Thursday that he is making a change in committee assignments that should allow a wind-energy bill — a major priority of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) — to advance in the chamber....
When the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday, Muse will be replaced on the Finance Committee by Sen. Victor R. Ramirez (D-Prince George’s), Miller said. Muse will take Ramirez’s seat on the Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Ramirez and Muse have voiced support for repealing the death penalty in recent years, so the swap should not affect committee votes on that issue. In recent years, bills to repeal the death penalty have fallen one vote short....
WANTED: LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE - Alright folks, that's my quick round-up on the death penalty. If you're with me on this issue, it seems clear that we will have to demand more than just a vote from our allied politicians on this. We need them to be leaders on this issue and to start working on their colleagues. No more excuses.
It is time to abandon the embarassingly inept policymaking symbolized by
a Dark Ages practice like government executions.
Besides,
Marylanders with any shred of state pride left in our Cold War with
Virginia should be quick to embrace death penalty repeal. After all, I
see Virginia's zeal for executions as something totally in line with the rest of their social policy differences with Maryland. But somehow we let the death penalty linger on and on over the years as a gross point of similarity. Enough!
Below Maryland Juice presents several recent political tidbits to
take note of, starting with an update on everyone's favorite
gay-bashing, drunk-driving Delegate Don Dwyer. Sorry for the length of
this JuiceBlender, but I'm playing catch up on a bunch of story threads
below.
Maryland's Drunk-Boating Delegate Don Dwyer
JUICE #1: CRIMINAL CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST TEA PARTY LAWMAKER DON DWYER // SPOTLIGHT ON HYPOCRISY
- Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer stunned political observers with his
moral hypocrisy earlier this year when he admitted driving a boat with
over three times the legal blood alcohol content (BAC). Dwyer is a
self-proclaimed family values, Tea Party lawmaker who previously led the
charge against marriage equality in Maryland. But Dwyer's drunk-boating led to serious injuries for several children, and now The Baltimore Sun reports that the Republican lawmaker is facing criminal charges (excerpt below):
BALTIMORE SUN:
Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. is facing five charges in connection with an
August boat crash that sent him and six other people — including four
children — to the hospital....
Dwyer, 54,
was charged Thursday by Maryland Natural Resources Police with
operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol, reckless
operation of a vessel, negligent operation of a vessel, failing to
register his boat and a rules-of-the-road violation.
If convicted, Dwyer could face a year in jail and up to $1,940 in combined fines.
The
operator of the other boat, Mark "Randy" Harbin, also was charged in
the crash; none of Harbin's charges were related to alcohol....
CAPITAL GAZETTE:
...after seeing Dwyer win three elections, we know he has a core of
supporters who see his fundamentalist view of the world as their own.
They have ignored his failing as a delegate, the inability to pass a
single piece of legislation. Instead, they have been content with a
representative focused on other people's morals, values and their lack
of respect for the law. Now poor judgment has turned the table and the
public must consider Dwyer's morals, values and lack of respect....
We
should not tolerate a lawmaker who violates the laws passed by the very
body he serves. Given the serious of the charges against Dwyer, he
should resign.
With a blood-alcohol level measured at
.24 -- three times the legal definition of intoxication -- his decision
to take that boat onto the water represented a complete lack of respect
for the lives of others. Police say he was negligent and reckless. He
should have been charged with being oblivious.
It is less sensational yet of equal concern that Dwyer was piloting a unregistered boat. The
man who has made his career lecturing us all on right and wrong decided
he could ignore the law. His hubris was so great, so galling that he
had the audacity to do it behind the wheel of a boat named Legislator.
Dwyer said he has no plans to step down....
JUICE #2: MD SENATE MAY SHIFT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP TO PASS WIND POWER BILL, BUT FROSH NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SAME FOR DEATH PENALTY
- Maryland Juice has been hearing rumors of potential shifts to the
membership of various committees in the Maryland Senate. The reason for
this would be to remove members who have been obstacles to various bills
and allow the legislation to come to a full vote on the floor. The Associated Press (via WNAV) this month noted that Senate President Mike Miller wants a vote on a wind power bill (excerpt below):
ASSOCIATED PRESS:
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller says he will consider changing
the membership of the Senate Finance Committee, if that's what is needed
to get an offshore wind measure to the Senate for a full debate in the
upcoming legislative session....
Maryland
Juice has been hoping that if the State Senate is going to be making
changes to pass wind power, that President Mike Miller will do the same
to finally get the death penalty off the books in Maryland. Notably,
Miller is an advocate of executions by the government and seems to be
unexcited about bringing Maryland in line with global norms on the
issue. Meanwhile human rights group Amnesty International noted the United States' embarrassing position on the issue last year:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: The United States stayed in its dubiously bad place on this fundamental human rights issue. The U.S. was the only country in the Western hemisphere or the G8 to kill its prisoners,
and was responsible for the fifth most known executions in the world,
behind China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. (As an independent country,
Texas would have ranked 7th, between North Korea and Somalia, with its
13 executions in 2011.)
This issue (and others)
continue to fuel my belief that Maryland's legislative leadership is
much more conservative than the voters they are supposed to represent.
More surprising, however, is the fact that liberal State Senator Brian
Frosh seems to be pulling his punches against the immoral and Dark Ages
practice of conducting state-sponsored murders in Maryland. The Baltimore Sun reported last month that the NAACP planned to make repeal of government executions their top priority in Maryland. But The Sun's
coverage also noted that Frosh, who chairs the Senate committee with
jurisdiction over state executions, does not believe that Miller should
change the composition of the Judiciary Committee to abolish the death
penalty. This is an odd view for Frosh (a death penalty opponent), given
that he is no stranger to using strong-arm tactics to advance or kill
legislation, as he did when he unilaterally overruled his colleagues and
killed student voting rights in Montgomery County this year. It is also
an interesting position, given that the composition of Senate
committees is pretty arbitrary to begin with. See an excerpt from The Sun's coverage below:
BALTIMORE SUN:
The NAACP is vowing to mount in Annapolis its largest-ever effort to
abolish the death penalty in a state, saying Maryland's historic role in
the civil rights movement makes it an appropriate place for the
push....
The NAACP has historically
opposed the death penalty for a variety of reasons, including racial
disparities in how it is applied. [NAACP President Ben] Jealous said
Maryland is especially important to the NAACP because of the state's
civil rights history — including the careers of native sons Thurgood
Marshall and Frederick Douglass....
To
get a repeal bill to the Senate floor under standard procedure, the
Judicial Proceedings Committee would have to approve it. A 6-5 majority
on the panel has consistently supported the death penalty....
Frosh,
a Montgomery County Democrat, said he has little enthusiasm for one
strategy suggested by repeal proponents — persuading Miller to shuffle
committee memberships to dislodge the bill. "I don't think it's good
policy to shift members of committees to pick up a vote on one issue,"
he said....
I agree that its not good practice to do this willy-nilly,
but surely there are instances where it makes sense. When a state
government grants itself the right to kill people, I think that might be
a good time to dust off the old "committee membership switcheroo"
tactic. Come on, we're doing it for wind power! I think that stopping state murder is at least as important as promoting renewable energy and halting climate change.
JUICE #3: SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI TO CHAIR APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE // TEA LEAVES: NO RETIREMENT COMING - Numerous outlets are reporting that U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (aka BAM!)
has been tapped to chair the body's appropriations committee, which
(naturally) has jurisdiction over how the Senate spends money. Mikulski
will be the first woman to hold the powerful post, and already Maryland
politicos are thinking about how this may benefit the Free State. One
Maryland Juice source noted, "This makes it much easier to get federal
funding for both Red Line and Purple Line... if we can just get the
state to come up with some transportation revenues." In any case, The Associated Press reported on the development via The New York Times (excerpt below):
ASSOCIATED PRESS:
Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is set to become the first woman to
chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, a position left
open this week by the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.
A
Democrat, Mikulski was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after
serving 10 years in the House. Last year, she became the longest-serving
woman in Senate history.
With her ascendancy to the
chairmanship of Appropriations, she enters a male-dominated realm that
in the past has had sweeping power in deciding how federal dollars will
be dispersed around the country....
JOSH KURTZ:
...for all the cheering about Mikulski in Maryland, there was also a
perceptible, if mostly silent cry of pain last week among ambitious
younger politicians looking to move up the food chain: My God, now she’ll never leave!
It’s
already been widely suspected that the 76-year-old senator wasn’t
planning to retire anytime soon, that she’d seek a record-breaking sixth
term in 2016. Now there shouldn’t be any doubt. Mikulski, whose
political career has been her life, has extra reason to stay....
JUICE #4: CONGRESSMAN-ELECT JOHN DELANEY TAPPED FOR HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE // WILL THE 1% BE GOOD FOR THE 99%?
- A former campaign aide
to Congressman-elect John Delaney reports that the 6th Congressional
District Democrat has been tapped to serve on the U.S. House's Financial
Services committee. Maryland Juice caught the following post on
Facebook a few days ago:
Depending
on what type of official Delaney turns out to be, this could either be a
great thing or an unfortunate development. Remember when Dick Cheney
let oil industry lobbyists make energy policy for the White House?
During
Delaney's heated campaign for Congress this year, his opponents marched
out a series of stories about his company Capital Source, including allegations that Delaney was essentially insensitive to the plight of ordinary people affected by his company's activities.
I have no idea if those characterizations were accurate or not, but it
does lead me to be slightly skeptical about whether it is a good thing
to put a member of the 1% in charge of financial services in Congress --
especially if it is unclear if that one-percenter is committed to
advancing social & economic justice. Note that I don't mean to use
the 1% term pejoratively here; rather, I'm merely reflecting the reality
that Delaney is (as a matter of fact) very, very, very rich, and he got that money through the very sector he will be regulating. Hmm.
On
the other hand, Delaney could understand that most of his constituents
are not interested in seeing further consolidation of wealth in the
United States, and so maybe he will turn out to be a refreshingly
forward-thinking voice on fiscal issues. After all, it should be obvious
to those with at least half a brain that it is not healthy for our
economy to have a shrinking body of wealth among middle-class consumers.
But for now, we'll all have to keep close tabs on John Delaney's votes
and priorities in Congress.
JUICE #5: STATE SENATOR BILL FERGUSON OF BALTIMORE MAY FACE 2014 PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM FORMER SEN. JOHN PICA - State Senator Bill Ferguson of Baltimore is having an "interesting" month to say the least. We recently reported that his car was vandalized with horseshit and acid, and now a former State Senator who served 16 years ago wants to primary Ferguson in 2014. See a quick excerpt from The Baltimore Sun's coverage below:
BALTIMORE SUN:
Former state Sen. John A. Pica Jr., who has been out of office the past
16 years, is considering a return to the political arena with a
possible Democratic primary challenge to Baltimore Sen. William C.
Ferguson IV....
"I wouldn't be looking at this if I
didn't think I could be a much more effective senator," Pica said. He
said that while his votes on issues would not be much different from
Ferguson's, he could be more effective than Ferguson in bringing back
state money to Baltimore....
Ferguson, the youngest
member of the Maryland Senate at 29, knocked off seven-term incumbent
George W. Della Jr. in the 2010 Democratic primary. After a bitter
campaign marked by harsh accusations on both sides, the young teacher
trounced the veteran by almost 60 percent to 40 percent.
The
incumbent said he will seek re-election. If Pica does run, Ferguson
said, the race will be seen as a contest between "old politics" and a
"new way of doing business...."
JUICE #6: GOV. O'MALLEY PUSHING MARYLAND ASSAULT WEAPON BAN // FMR. LT. GOV. MICHAEL STEELE CONDEMNS NRA STATEMENTS
- In the wake of Connecticut's school shooting, Maryland Democrats are
making gun control legislation a priority in 2013. Governor O'Malley and
Democratic state legislators are proposing a ban on assault weapons and
other measures. WAMU reported a couple weeks ago on O'Malley's plans (excerpt below):
WAMU:
Last week's shooting presents three main areas of legislative focus,
the governor said: laws relating to assault weapons, mental health
treatment and school safety....
Indeed, in tandem
with O'Malley's push, several Democratic lawmakers are introducing bills
to curb gun violence. In a follow-up article, WAMU detailed some of the bills that are being proposed by State Senators Bill Ferguson of Baltimore and Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County (excerpt below):
WAMU:
In the wake of last week's mass shooting in Connecticut, a group of
state senators in Maryland is unveiling a series of gun control bills
they will push during the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
The
bills are wide-ranging, including an assault weapon ban, mandatory
reduction of ammunition clip size and banning concealed gun permits for
people who've been committed involuntarily to a mental institution in
the past five years....
"This madness must stop," Ferguson says. "We can not continue to have a community in which gun violence is accepted...."
"There
is simply no reason for any civilian in the United States of America to
be carrying around a military style assault weapon like an uzi," Raskin
says....
GAZETTE:
Del. John W.E. Cluster Jr. (R-Dist. 8) of Parkville has crafted a bill
requiring school resource officers — sworn, active-duty police officers —
to be assigned daily to every public school in the state....
Cluster
made clear that his proposal would only include sworn, active-duty
police officers, and that they could become good role models for the
students in the schools they serve.
He also said he is skeptical
of proposals such as the state assault-weapons ban, which he doesn’t
feel would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people....
In
an interesting aside, former Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele
recently weighed in on the gun control debate by condemning the NRA's
call for teachers to start packing heat. In comments that appeared in Politico, Steele called the proposal "disturbing" (excerpt below):
POLITICO:
“I don’t even know where to begin. As a supporter of the Second
Amendment and a supporter of the NRA — even though I’m not a member of
the NRA — I just found it very haunting and very disturbing that our
country now is talking about arming our teachers and our principals in
classrooms,” Steele said on MSNBC immediately after LaPierre finished
his comments.
Steele continued: “What does that say about us?
What does that say about us? I do not believe that is where the American
people want to go. I do not believe that is the response that should be
coming out of the tragedy out of Newtown....”
While
Maryland Juice is glad to see the surge in interest in common-sense gun
control legislation, I am curious why American policymakers continually
wait for tragedies to occur before addressing obvious problems. We seem
to lack a proactive or predictive policy apparatus in this country.
Again, I point to the Minnesota bridge collapses, the flooding of New
Orleans, the NUMEROUS school shootings in America, and many, many other
tragedies as examples of dangerously reactive policymaking. When will Americans get macro and start working to preempt problems, rather than waiting until tragedy strikes to act?
JUICE #7: ALONZO WASHINGTON SWORN IN TO REPLACE DELEGATE JUSTIN ROSS // MEANWHILE GREG HALL STILL IN LIMBO
- Prince George's County's political team has been undergoing constant
shifts in recent years, and 2012 was no exception. A few days ago,
Delegate Jolene Ivey posted a photo on Twitter of Alonzo Washington
being sworn into the House of Delegates. Washington is replacing
Democrat Justin Ross who vacated his seat earlier this year. I have to
admit, I ~love~ Alonzo Washington's bad-ass hairdo:
Meanwhile,
Maryland politicos are still awaiting the final outcome of litigation
regarding Prince George's County's other vacant State House seat.
Tiffany Alston and Greg Hall continue to battle in court for the right
to represent Maryland's District 24. But with the case still in front of
Maryland's high court, we may have to wait until 2013 to see how this
shakes out. JUICE #8: NANCY NAVARRO BEGINS MOCO COUNCIL PRESIDENCY, BERLINER REFLECTS ON HIS TERM AS PREZ
- Councilmember Nancy Navarro became the first Latina to serve as
President of the Montgomery Council this month. She succeeds
Councilmember Roger Berliner, who ended a one-year term as President
this month. Note that the MoCo Council Prez position changes every year,
with the Councilmembers themselves voting on the leader of their body.
Below you can see a video interview with Navarro where she describes her
plans for the year. You can also see Berliner reviewing his year as
President.
