Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) on Wednesday announced he would commute the sentences of Maryland’s remaining four death row inmates to life without parole.
In a statement, O’Malley acknowledged that the state abolished the death penalty in 2013 and the subsequent legal debate over what to do about earlier death sentences.
“Recent appeals and the latest opinion on this matter by Maryland’s Attorney General have called into question the legality of carrying out earlier death sentences — sentences imposed prior to abolition,” the statement read.
“In fact, the Attorney General has opined that the carrying out of prior sentences is now illegal in the absence of an existing statute,” it continued.
After noting that he had met with the victims’ families, O’Malley said he had decided to close the pathways to further appeals and legal maneuvers by commuting the sentences of the final four death row inmates.
“In the final analysis, there is one truth that stands between and before all of us. That truth is this — few of us would ever wish for our children or grandchildren to kill another human being or to take part in the killing of another human being,” said the governor’s statement. “The legislature has expressed this truth by abolishing the death penalty in Maryland.”
“For these reasons, I intend to commute Maryland’s four remaining death sentences to life without the possibility of parole,” it concluded.
