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| Gov. O’Malley to commute sentences of Maryland’s remaining death-row inmates | Gov. O’Malley to commute sentences of Maryland’s remaining death-row inmates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) announced Wednesday that he would commute the sentences of Maryland’s four remaining death-row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole. | Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) announced Wednesday that he would commute the sentences of Maryland’s four remaining death-row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole. |
| The decision comes nearly two years after the legislature repealed capital punishment in Maryland at O’Malley’s urging, and three weeks before O’Malley will complete his second and final term in office. He is considering running for president in 2016. | The decision comes nearly two years after the legislature repealed capital punishment in Maryland at O’Malley’s urging, and three weeks before O’Malley will complete his second and final term in office. He is considering running for president in 2016. |
| Maryland’s repeal of capital punishment did not apply to prisoners already on death row. There were five such prisoners when the legislation took effect; one has since died of natural causes. | Maryland’s repeal of capital punishment did not apply to prisoners already on death row. There were five such prisoners when the legislation took effect; one has since died of natural causes. |
| Death-penalty opponents have urged O’Malley to commute the remaining prisoners’ sentences, while family members of some of their victims said they opposed such a move. | Death-penalty opponents have urged O’Malley to commute the remaining prisoners’ sentences, while family members of some of their victims said they opposed such a move. |
| “In my judgment, leaving these death sentences in place does not serve the public good of the people of Maryland — present or future,” O’Malley said in a statement Wednesday. | “In my judgment, leaving these death sentences in place does not serve the public good of the people of Maryland — present or future,” O’Malley said in a statement Wednesday. |
| O’Malley cited a recent opinion from state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) that death sentences could no longer be carried out in Maryland because there is no death penalty statute on the books and no procedures in place on administering lethal injections. | O’Malley cited a recent opinion from state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) that death sentences could no longer be carried out in Maryland because there is no death penalty statute on the books and no procedures in place on administering lethal injections. |
| The state’s highest court ruled in late 2006 that Maryland’s lethal injection procedures had not been properly adopted, and O’Malley’s administration never implemented new rules. | The state’s highest court ruled in late 2006 that Maryland’s lethal injection procedures had not been properly adopted, and O’Malley’s administration never implemented new rules. |
| In his statement, O’Malley called the four remaining death sentences — of inmates Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch and Jody Lee Miles — “un-executable.” | In his statement, O’Malley called the four remaining death sentences — of inmates Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch and Jody Lee Miles — “un-executable.” |
| Evans and Grandison were convicted and sentenced to death in 1984 for the contract killing the year before of David Scott Piechowicz and Susan Kennedy in Baltimore County. Piechowicz and his wife, Cheryl, had been scheduled to testify against Grandison in a federal drug trial and were the target of a hit for which Grandison paid Evans $9,000. | Evans and Grandison were convicted and sentenced to death in 1984 for the contract killing the year before of David Scott Piechowicz and Susan Kennedy in Baltimore County. Piechowicz and his wife, Cheryl, had been scheduled to testify against Grandison in a federal drug trial and were the target of a hit for which Grandison paid Evans $9,000. |
| Burch was convicted of killing his neighbors, Robert and Cleo Davis, with a pair of scissors in their Capitol Heights home in 1995. At the time of the murders, Burch was reportedly high on crack cocaine and other drugs. | Burch was convicted of killing his neighbors, Robert and Cleo Davis, with a pair of scissors in their Capitol Heights home in 1995. At the time of the murders, Burch was reportedly high on crack cocaine and other drugs. |
| Miles was convicted in 1998 for the robbery and murder of Edward Joseph Atkinson in Wicomico County. | Miles was convicted in 1998 for the robbery and murder of Edward Joseph Atkinson in Wicomico County. |
| The decision to commute the sentences was sharply criticized by Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger (D), a death penalty proponent. | The decision to commute the sentences was sharply criticized by Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott D. Shellenberger (D), a death penalty proponent. |
| “I think it’s interesting that with 21 days left in the administration that he decides to show mercy for two calculating killers,” Shellenberger said, referring to Evans and Grandisonm, who were convicted in his jurisdiction. “I think these are valid sentences and they should be carried out.” | “I think it’s interesting that with 21 days left in the administration that he decides to show mercy for two calculating killers,” Shellenberger said, referring to Evans and Grandisonm, who were convicted in his jurisdiction. “I think these are valid sentences and they should be carried out.” |
| But Jane Henderson, former executive director of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, said that in the wake of Gansler’s opinion, there was virtually no chance that the four inmates would be put to death. “These men were not going to be executed,” she said. | But Jane Henderson, former executive director of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, said that in the wake of Gansler’s opinion, there was virtually no chance that the four inmates would be put to death. “These men were not going to be executed,” she said. |
| Maryland Citizens Against State Executions spent years pushing for the repeal of capital punishment in Maryland. O’Malley’s decision to commute the four sentences, Henderson said, closes the books on the issue: “The death penalty really is gone now in Maryland.” | Maryland Citizens Against State Executions spent years pushing for the repeal of capital punishment in Maryland. O’Malley’s decision to commute the four sentences, Henderson said, closes the books on the issue: “The death penalty really is gone now in Maryland.” |
| As his time in office comes to an end, O’Malley has also taken long-awaited action in recent weeks on key environmental issues. On Tuesday, he appointed 10 district and circuit court judges. | As his time in office comes to an end, O’Malley has also taken long-awaited action in recent weeks on key environmental issues. On Tuesday, he appointed 10 district and circuit court judges. |
| He said that prior to deciding to commute the death sentences, he met or spoke with many surviving relatives of the inmates’ victims. | He said that prior to deciding to commute the death sentences, he met or spoke with many surviving relatives of the inmates’ victims. |
| “I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me,” O’Malley said. “They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process.” | “I am deeply grateful and appreciative of their willingness to speak with me,” O’Malley said. “They have borne their grief bravely along with the additional torment of an un-ending legal process.” |
| O’Malley said he hoped that commuting the sentences would bring greater closure to the victims’ families, because it would end any legal limbo regarding the inmates. | O’Malley said he hoped that commuting the sentences would bring greater closure to the victims’ families, because it would end any legal limbo regarding the inmates. |
| “Gubernatorial inaction — at this point in the legal process — would, in my judgment, needlessly and callously subject survivors, and the people of Maryland, to the ordeal of an endless appeals process, with unpredictable twists and turns, and without any hope of finality or closure,” O’Malley said. | “Gubernatorial inaction — at this point in the legal process — would, in my judgment, needlessly and callously subject survivors, and the people of Maryland, to the ordeal of an endless appeals process, with unpredictable twists and turns, and without any hope of finality or closure,” O’Malley said. |
| O’Malley spokesman Ron Boehmer said the governor’s office plans to issue a notice of O’Malley’s intentions on Friday in the Daily Record, a Baltimore-based legal publication. That will run for two weeks, he said. | |
| Sometime after Jan. 16, before he leaves office on Jan. 21, O’Malley plans to issue an executive order commuting the death sentences, Boehmer said. | |
| Here is O’Malley’s full statement. | Here is O’Malley’s full statement. |