May 9, 2002. The state of Maryland is set to execute Wesley Baker in less than a week. Thousands of calls have been pouring in to the Governor from around the country calling for him to halt executions. Whatever the Governor’s decision, we know it will have to come sometime in the next two days. Then, at 11:45 in the afternoon, Governor Parris Glendening issued the announcement that made Maryland the first state since Illinois and only the second state in the country to impose a moratorium on all executions.
Speaking to the press, Governor Glendening promised to halt all executions until the University of Maryland completes its study of racial bias and the Governor, the legislature, and the public have fully reviewed its findings. The moratorium came just days before the state was set to perform its first execution since 1998.
On April 25, Equal Justice USA led a delegation that met with Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and urged her to call for a moratorium. A week later, Washington Post quoted Townsend calling upon the Governor to halt executions pending results of the study. Townsend said she was particularly moved by the report released weeks before by the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, which recommended 85 different reforms for the death penalty (see our article: IL Commission Issues Landmark Report).
Charges of racial bias have long plagued Maryland’s death penalty. The Governor commissioned a $225,000 study of racial bias two years ago. Since then grassroots groups have been urging him to impose a moratorium while the study takes place. “It is imperative that I, as well as our citizens, have complete confidence that the legal process in capital cases is fair and impartial,” Glendening said in announcing the moratorium.
While the halt is open-ended, Glendening estimated that the completion and review of the study would take about a year. Because the in-coming Governor in 2003 will have the authority to change the terms of the moratorium, work to ensure its continuation will remain important.
A grassroots coalition spearheaded by Equal Justice USA, the Maryland Catholic Conference, the State Conference of the NAACP, Amnesty International, and others has been actively pressuring for a halt to executions over the last several years. We won a significant victory last March when the Maryland House of Delegates passed a moratorium bill 82-54. A filibuster in the Senate precluded the anticipated majority vote in that house.
Both the Governor and Lt. Governor have maintained their strong support of the death penalty in principle. They join other high-profile death penalty supporters nationwide who have, over the last few years, become increasingly aware of flaws in the system and recognized that executions could not continue in the face of such doubts.
The historic Maryland victory will give a boost to state campaigns nationwide. Fourteen states introduced moratorium bills this year, and several are still pending. To get involved in efforts in your state, visit the State by State portion of our website at www.quixote.org/ej, or call us at 301-699-0042.
