Del. Craig Rice called his mother Tuesday morning to tell her the Maryland Senate was about to begin a discussion of the death penalty.
Vivian Rice reminded her son that the date had even more significance. It was 16 years ago on March 3 that his aunt, quadriplegic cousin and his cousin's full-time nurse were killed in their Wheaton home. Vivian Rice lived five doors away. She found the bodies.
Stunned by the symbolism of the timing, Delegate Rice, a 36-year-old freshman lawmaker from Montgomery County, dashed off an e-mail to all 47 senators. The message landed in their in-boxes at 2:52 p.m., barely a half-hour before the Senate was to meet.
It immediately - and silently - set the tone of the debate, even though senators never mentioned it as they went through their amendments and arguments.
Under a subject line that read "My personal story ... that I think you should know regarding the death penalty," Rice wrote that his mother still has nightmares about the killers, "and will continue to do so until they are no longer on this Earth."
He told of the personal courage it took for her to testify in court. "She and my family will never be the same," he said.
The closing line screamed in boldface capital letters and underlined: PLEASE DO NOT REPEAL THE DEATH PENALTY.
The plea was printed out and passed around the Senate floor as the sharply divided body decided what to do. Senators quickly chose to preserve the death penalty, while setting conditions that would restrict its application. The decision not to repeal passed by just two votes.
And Rice's words, it is now clear, were on the minds of lawmakers that afternoon.
One senator who said she had been seriously considering a repeal noted Rice's e-mail as a major factor in her decision to vote for restrictions instead.
Sen. Rona E. Kramer, a fellow Montgomery County Democrat, said the delegate raised "an extremely important argument."
"Sometimes, the death penalty goes beyond wanting to make the family feel better," Kramer said in an interview yesterday. "It can be about making them feel safe and secure. The safety and security of witnesses - that hadn't really been raised before."
Rice said he supports the plan that cleared the Senate, which requires DNA evidence, a video recording of the crime or a videotaped confession to pursue capital punishment. The full chamber approved it yesterday, and the House of Delegates will take it up in about two weeks.
