Capital punishment commission hears surprising, sobering stories

Capital punishment commission hears surprising, sobering stories
By Jennifer McMenamin
November 16, 2008

When the New Jersey legislature voted late last year to repeal the death penalty, it did so on the heels of a near-unanimous recommendation from a state commission that said capital punishment was too costly, too arbitrary and too tough on victims' families to justify the risk of an irreversible mistake.

So when Maryland lawmakers created a panel to study the issue, death penalty opponents hoped it would produce a similar recommendation and provide the boost needed to repeal the death penalty law.

Last week, they got that recommendation - but on a much closer vote than in New Jersey, where the margin was 12-1.

The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment found, by 13-7 vote, that the state should abolish the death penalty because it carries the "real possibility" of executing innocent people and may be biased against blacks.
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