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| Maryland's Governor Issues Death Penalty Moratorium |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/20/2002 |
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Gov. Parris Glendening imposed a moratorium May 9 on executions in Maryland until the state completes a study of whether there is racial bias in the use of the death penalty. Only one other state that has capital punishment, Illinois, has imposed a similar moratorium. Glendening, a Democrat who is barred from seeking a third term this November, issued a stay on the execution of Wesley Eugene Baker and said he would stay any other executions that come before him. Baker, 44, was scheduled to die by injection sometime this week. In announcing his decision, the governor repeated his support for the death penalty in especially heinous crimes, but said that 'reasonable questions have been raised in Maryland and across the country about the application of the death penalty.' Glendening had been under pressure to halt executions until he receives a study that is due to be completed in September by a researcher at the University of Maryland. Baker is one of 13 men awaiting execution in Maryland, and critics say the death penalty is more likely to be imposed if the defendants are black and the victims are white. Nine of the 13, including Baker, are black, and many of the victims were white, including the woman Baker was convicted of killing. Glendening said he would not lift the moratorium until the study is completed and reviewed by the state legislature. He said he expects the moratorium will remain in place for about a year, unless the next governor resumes executions after taking office in January. Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who also supports the death penalty in limited cases, had asked Glendening last week to impose the moratorium. She recently announced she is running to succeed him. About 3,700 people are on death row for crimes committed in the 38 states that allow the death penalty. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty 25 years ago, more than 770 inmates have been put to death in the United States by the federal government and authorities in 32 states. |
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