O'Malley told the Associated Press yesterday that he hoped the commission's recommendation would prompt lawmakers to take "a fresh look" at the issue, though he said he doesn't know whether enough lawmakers will change their minds. The Democratic governor noted that the state is on course for a significant reduction in homicides. No one has been executed in Maryland since 2005.
"I think wise people can change their mind, and I think that is a sign they are becoming wiser," he said.
Even the bill's chief sponsor acknowledges that movement during the General Assembly session that will begin in January may be unlikely. But Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat, said the commission's report will add momentum to repeal efforts. She predicted that such a bill will reach O'Malley's desk by the end of his first term in 2010.
"There's a movement afoot in the state that says consistently now the death penalty doesn't work," said Gladden, a public defender. "We're now in a position to figure out how you get it to the governor's desk."
O'Malley's administration and activist groups have tried to get a feel for vote tallies on the issue. Apart from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where a repeal bill died on a tied vote last year, activists say they have the votes to get a bill out of the House Judiciary Committee and to win passage in the full House of Delegates.
That scenario was confirmed by House Speaker Michael E. Busch yesterday. "If a bill moves favorably out of the Senate, I believe there are likely a majority of 71 votes in the House in support of a repeal," said Busch, who has supported the death penalty with some reservations and said he will review the commission's findings before making a "personal decision."
Activists think they have the needed support, but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said his chamber is "very evenly divided," and he doesn't think the commission report is likely to change anyone's thinking. Miller, who supports the death penalty and wields enormous sway over which bills get a vote in his chamber, said he doesn't plan to lobby his colleagues.
Another potential swing committee vote is Sen. Alex X. Mooney, a Frederick County Republican and Roman Catholic who also has pledged to keep an open mind on the issue. Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat and Catholic, also has been lobbied hard to change his stance. But he said yesterday that while he's "really torn," he continues to believe the death penalty is a deterrent to violent crime.
