Repealing the death penalty is INSANE. We need to eliminate these predators in order to protect the innocent. What we need to repeal is the long process of appeals used to keep these criminals alive. The money used to "protect" them can be put to better use.

What's wrong with this state/country?
1. Lets take guns away from good guys
2. Lets make it harder to get a LEGAL gun
3. Lets not enforce the current laws against criminals
4. Lets not keep these criminals in jail
5. Lets repeal the death penalty.

Almost seams criminals are winning.

The mind set is ok with droning people from afar with out due process, but putting a convicted criminal, who has done horrible things to death is bad. I don't get it. Feels like a contradiction.

I hope this does go to referendum. Lately, the "representatives" in office haven't represented a shred of a common sense.

The death penalty is a necessity. Is it flawed? Absolutely. Making it stricter on who its used for was a perfectly intelligent amendment. There is no reason to suffer serial killers, mass murderers, child rapers, etc. to live. There is no redemption for them and (by the time they are caught) have so much evidence there isn't any doubt they are guilty.

Our politicians are a joke - when do they actually pay attention to the majority of the citizens who want to keep and use the death penalty? We have 5 on death row now who earned their fate and now we may have to keep them around for what? To commit another murder? This State is in sad shape with a rather awful Governor.

If they want to repeal it than lets let them all out of jail for a week and we will give them all of the politicians and the families address' and let them come home for a nice little visit, this is what we deserve when you elect some of the dumbest humans on earth into office, starting with the community organizer in the White house now, we are doomed as anation anyhow so everyone just go do whatever you feel like.

Libs love them some serail killers, rapists and low-lifes.

Legislators who vote to raise taxes and fees, do away with the death penalty, etc., are really nothing more than cowards.

You will never ever ever convince me that a hundred dollars worth of death juice costs more than housing an inmate for life. Even including the cost of appeals. Its no t as if "life sentence" dont also appeal. I can find a link to a website supporting the exhistance of unicorns...doesnt make it real.

The whole expense thing is a red herring. By protecting the criminal class the Democrats get the votes of the their families who know they protected one of their own. The Democrats could care less about the effects on the community.

"Sequester do-over: Feds recaptured 4 immigrants released under budget cuts"
"The Obama administration said Thursday it has rearrested and brought back four of the most dangerous immigrants it released from detention last month in the run-up to the budget sequester cuts.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton testified to Congress that his agency released 10 “level one” offenders, and has gone out and brought four of them back in. He said the other six are non-violent.

Mr. Morton also acknowledged that overall, 2,228 immigrants were released — far more than the several hundred the agency had initially admitted to."

No death penalty, release criminal illegal aliens, disarm law abiding Americans, arm the Syrian "rebels" and the Sinola drug terrorists, lie about the death of 4 Americans in Benghazi.
What a gang we got running things!

This is an interesting read for those who oppose the death penalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_McDuff

Based on this kind of data an opponent of the death penalty sought out to prove it does not save lives or deter others from killing. He was shocked by his own findings and hand to admit he was wrong.

If you are going to do away with the act, then you should have truth in sentencing which we don't. The system is a profound joke without it.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,280215,00.html

What do you call all the people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, collateral damage?

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/The_Innocent_and_the_Death_Penalty.php

With todays DNA technology if you can prove without a reasonable doubt along with witnesses it a slam dunk case. Once the DNA samples were tested Mr. Bloodsworth was set free. So if we can free a man using this type of testing why can't we put a killer down?

I thought we were supposed to be a civilized nation and civilized nations don't have the death penalty

Right now we rank in the Top Five for the highest number of executions right along with such illuminaries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Yemen.

I'm always torn on this one. In theory, I support the death penalty in limited cases. That said, I've never been sure if it's a real deterrent, and frankly, I feel like the reality is that people up for it often spend more time in prison appealing it than actual lifers.

That said, I will say, on an unrelated note, being pro-death penalty and against abortion is hypocrisy. Sorry kids, I just don't get it.

I really think this is one of those BS issues to distract everyone from the real problem -- we have the highest population of incarcerated people in the entire industrialized world. Maybe we should figure out why we want to throw everyone in jail and keep a second class citizenry going.

Again, not a sexy soundbite, and it doesn't make money for the privatized prison system.

Eric,
Real simple, I'm not interested in the death penalty being a deterrent, I want it to be the ultimate punishment for the crime.

Where do I sign? How do I get petitions for others to sign? Let's get started now, we can have enough names by Friday before this thing becomes law.

Well Evets, the fact that the bankers are paying a fine and going home to sleep in their own beds is a direct result of the money they have spent to buy the very politicians who will not make laws that will put them in the well designed, orange jump suits that they so well deserve.

As insane as it sounds, I have read that the death penalty, when including the combined cost of 10 years (average) of incarceration during the process, automatic appeals, not to mention the higher price of a longer initial trial itself... actually costs more than simply jailing the scumbag for the rest of his miserable life.

That may all be true but the fact is the scumbags are still breathing the air.

It sure would be easier if "Thou shalt not kill" had an asterisk with a few footnoted exceptions.

Interesting that it's legal and acceptable to kill in self-defense but if the perp is apprehended instead he/she would no longer be in fear of death by legal system. Perhaps a more logical way to view the death penalty is as delayed self-defense for past and potential future victims? Of course a killing by self-defense is certainly much cheaper for taxpayers. Since the government does not accept any responsibility to train citizens in self-defense then a murder victim's only recourse is delayed self-defense through the legal system. Taking away the option of death penalty in that case appears to provide criminals motivation to make sure they kill a victim and therefore get an advantage over law-abiding citizens. And on the other hand makes it more incumbent on citizens to either prepare themselves for self-defense to the point of becoming killers or become willing murder victims.

There needs to be a death penalty statute that protects the innocent from being executed while allowing the execution of the worst of the worst. Society needs to be protected from psychos like Ted Bundy who escaped from prison and went on to brutally assault women until he was apprehended again, and finally executed. We can argue all we want about whether or not capital punishment is a deterrent. It's indisputable that when correctly applied, it cuts down on recidivism.

A tip of the hat to Virginia who executed John Muhammad and spared our citizens the spectacle of Maryland handwringing about whether or not that multiple murdering terrorist should have been spared.

Anybody know how the three stooges from Dundalk feel on this?

We don't use it anyway. But i believe the people that want to get rid of itshould sign a petition. Then when it is gone,they can be the ones to foot the bill. It cost a lot for food,shelter,and medical. For what? The Bible says,send me your murderers and the wicked. Let me judge them........Oh. I forgot,this country doesn't believe in the Bible anymore.

Now that this hideous no death penalty bill will by signed by this tool bag governor, it was interesting to listen to his pious comments concerning those who were truly the enlightened and voted for the repeal. It seems that the rest of us are merely neanderthals scraping our knuckles as we howl for the blood of the killers. It would be interesting if we could find out, of those who voted for repeal of death for killers, just how they voted for the death of innocents by way of abortions.

I have lost all respect for Government! They are more concerned with taking care of criminals, illegal's, entitlement recipient's on the tab of the overburdoned working class men, women and families that have built and supported this once great state and nation! They are destroying the country before our very eyes!

By removing the death penalty the state of Maryland is sending a clear message to criminals, "Come to Maryland where no matter what heinous crime you commit you will never pay for the crime with your life."

Criminals didn't flock to the other 8 states that removed the death penalty.

Every criminal that has been put down, has never come back to the system compared to about 95% that are released always return. take their good parts and feed the crabs with their other parts, they did not care about human life when they we sentenced.