FW: LWVMD ACTION ALERT Repeal Maryland's Death Penalty

Tue Feb 26 20:04:13 MST 2008

We're more than halfway through the 2008 session of the Maryland General
Assembly.  If you haven't yet contacted your legislators, do so today!  Ask
them to support HB 1328
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNyrT8AgJXeRjY35eF-DPDuV_v_utWNY3qZBkyOT
Y7KKVfgfacu5NgXQAcHXCYq4BSsa80CYEsOxYg5W9sisS39-34nVDe_FZcAmwQalRooX_44onnYN
IIL6s09ffPY1-KfQ68-G-106zw_NexZApFXa>  & SB 645
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNzFdWmPg2dW53K7X7yRnsR0G15xJv3DlfVameoN
YcyHYpTSnCT0tJiJq3gL03kEZFV6Og9qhyPQOVHWtC3erlFDDhOpDzz34c_L97y2OHc-NJ154g7q
J7PSvOcFoAoG5WJOrnD9b3a_fqCt12FYh2qp> , bills to replace Maryland's death
penalty with life without parole.

Visit www.mdelect.net
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNzPxtYOGrZJWQiNhczzoOGIFFFXHcdubn5XcH7f
esCzZutU8p5pTsaTsMzcUx7F8RzuXgoDtyjnXKTR4B6yA5ek0nctQlqNishwFRXa8iin9g==>
to find out who represents you.

Repeal MD's Death Penalty:

 2008 Death Penalty Repeal Bills are HB 1328
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNz5bkW3_I9yLtaStEkVeD3lf6K1Zp07dPs2vLwe
8iufGg6OKzrRAOq3DFZj65JhYbrGJBOmODz0STa8xS154Sd0MuLFGdZSw9cG-s44m3ILUnUruut5
83cdiBSdn4KDrA4t6__PvXUbDY2Wt1S5Q3HW>  & SB 645
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNzFdWmPg2dW53K7X7yRnsR0G15xJv3DlfVameoN
YcyHYpTSnCT0tJiJq3gL03kEZFV6Og9qhyPQOVHWtC3erlFDDhOpDzz34c_L97y2OHc-NJ154g7q
J7PSvOcFoAoG5WJOrnD9b3a_fqCt12FYh2qp> 

 Hearings for death penalty repeal legislation are scheduled for Thursday,
March 6th in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and Thursday, March
13th in the House Judiciary Committee.  We need to pull out all the stops
between now and then to get these bills passed on for consideration by the
full House and Senate!

Write a letter to your legislators. 

Find out who represents you at www.mdelect.net
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNzPxtYOGrZJWQiNhczzoOGIFFFXHcdubn5XcH7f
esCzZutU8p5pTsaTsMzcUx7F8RzuXgoDtyjnXKTR4B6yA5ek0nctQlqNishwFRXa8iin9g==> .
Contact information for each legislator can be found on the Maryland General
Assembly's website
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNwMJA8K9OU026p_jAOAKjHgSFT3E8U0bCUF1Hy3
reCaAnJGt8IDFTSySG3xoC73BSH-nxRXH2WKj4Nqx4sTt1Ooz4JP0eckHhgwerCksx5gsQ==> .
If you would like more information on where your lawmakers stand on the
death penalty, get in touch by responding to this email or calling
301-779-5230. 

If your legislator co-sponsored repeal this year please write and thank him
or her for the support and urge leadership, especially if your legislator
sits on either the House Judiciary or Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committees.  You can find out which lawmakers co-sponsored repeal on MD
CASE's website
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNz1df1MxiUFAk_Sp0YkMEU4U4F9HscvJOoMlYto
JsVMFg0wz5W0MeyLdjBQny-9VlEUSgOi1ik6VmszqeTurbgQpP9hULEL8w-8y7BelyAYI8z2_L6_
wUFn> .

If your legislator is unsupportive or still deciding how he or she will
vote, ask the lawmaker to consider that:

*	There is documented racial and geographic bias in Maryland death
sentencing - skin color and county lines should NOT determine who lives and
who dies 
*	We make mistakes and innocent people get sentenced to death -
nationally 127 people have been released from death rows after being found
innocent; in Maryland, Kirk Bloodsworth was sentenced to death and spent
almost nine years in prison for a murder he did not commit 
*	The death penalty is not a deterrent - in fact, states that have and
consistently use the death penalty tend to have the highest murder rates 
*	The death penalty is expensive - every cost study ever done has
found that capital punishment is a far bigger drain on financial and human
resources than is a system with life without parole 
*	Maryland is ready - a 2007 poll found that 61% of Marylanders
support replacing the death penalty with life without parole

If one or more of your legislators sits on the committees first hearing
repeal legislation - the House Judiciary or Senate Judicial Proceedings
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNzkDeacpk4-KlZG6IBWmwcttm8rQIoucPcWMD_D
sKa45uLLDghmrIDrWa1dkp1s68W9NUKWn9Jj9iyYVlZmoRFq3kzAboCKO8cYbF6oHDGleOVtdmAU
i1bwecAj-VRlxhH6CiR0B5zVdCSPfaEwHFv3>  - it's all the more important that
you contact them today!

Please let us at MD CASE know when a legislator responds so we can keep an
accurate vote count.   

State Updates 

A Baltimore County judge frustrated prosecutors in a capital case when last
November she ruled fingerprint evidence inadmissible.  The State's Attorneys
prosecuting Bryan Keith Rose, who is charged with murder and attempted
carjacking, maintain that the latent prints lifted from the scene link the
defendant to the crime and are crucial to their case.

Asked to reconsider her ruling - which cites the wrongful arrest of an
Oregon man supposedly tied by fingerprint evidence to the 2004 train bombing
in Madrid - Judge Susan Souder held firm to her finding that such forensic
evidence has not proven as reliable as once thought.

Since Judge Souder's denial of the motion to reconsider, state prosecutors
have been working to salvage the case.  Without the opportunity to put
fingerprint evidence in front of a jury, they lack the ability to make a
solid connection between Rose and the crime.  Additionally, Baltimore County
prosecutors are seeking a death sentence, which might be difficult to win
even upon conviction, given the recent pattern of life without parole
verdicts from Baltimore County juries hearing capital cases.

Recently federal prosecutors in Maryland have begun a review of the Rose
case, noting that evidence barred from a trial at the state level might be
admissible in federal court.  Because he is charged with attempted
carjacking - which is considered a federal crime - Rose could be eligible
for the federal death penalty.

For more on the case of Bryan Keith Rose, read the Baltimore Sun articles
below.

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNxl1SMEa7IIAZwt3cuz1qKaRD7Q4hr8DlM0TlHY
xUfejcTJ7EBuxOeA2zt8YmqwDDDqdmR1h4XJYtGYPszf3v0oJkwgZg7TOWF4H2VlMFrSXiHlQR1T
0Fq06Avs41YUUvzTV5tkP-W63_kv2FxI206dnlrD7tDYdWew_1sWN3GdMMUog3AorwB1WEHDhEwY
-xjXs_xfNtjQVO7OxNpxd33u> Judge Bars Use of Partial Prints in Murder Trial 

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNwXRG3HXSYC1ufR-H0qGne0Eg4vy6ibVy11Ex6d
GzyLrO3zIcUGvUXMzjP3teDE0JTXbikAQXEmXpLFMfFPr5HcEMKmo02J5U5vgHEfG24HfvFoID2k
qDO18UtxzZVx9eWuOf8K-kPVP0oPNAh8MKlyqygGgBtqsp-AoHOpK1S9f11TrS3wbeRBA9uhi5ZF
pKKJ9kYdRNjQQqAVOyQ9OtEI> US Eyeing County Case 

Also - for those of you who missed the most excellent dramatization of the
1919 trial of John Snowden in Annapolis last week, please be sure to read
about it in the Annapolis Capital article below.  Huge thanks goes out to
the actors involved in researching, writing, and performing this compelling
piece of Maryland history, to Kirk Bloodsworth for sharing his story during
the reception, and to the fine folks at the Annapolis Courthouse for being
terrific hosts.

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001SMBzaZYDmNxOagTZj39kJDgZBOUpZEbJSiYtcYaz6WsFTBKT
4rE-0emiNUrd6UbPMBjDmnU3c4DLV3To-5w-usrCWggoc2PUUKCfto9eg1DuW9KWhHeg8in7A5z1
OsMM69RCPFtPD2G57ofyKqwaprGjeFYYdR8ZvYaBPTqK9OmoosY5lHCDgg==> Anti-death
Penalty Group Re-enacts 1919 Snowden Trial

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