On March 4, the Maryland Senate reached a compromise on a death penalty repeal bill by amending the bill so as to restrict capital prosecutions. The proposed revision to the state’s death penalty statute would preclude murder cases where the only evidence is eyewitness testimony and, in turn, require DNA evidence, videotaped evidence, or a voluntary videotaped confession. Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat and proponent of death penalty repeal, said his support of the Senate compromise came with mixed emotions. Raskin said senators did not pay enough attention to the work of a governor-appointed bipartisan commission that carefully studied the state’s death penalty. That commission, headed by former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, recommended abolishing the death penalty because of its racial and geographical disparities, the risk of executing an innocent person, and its high costs.

The Senate will vote on the amended bill on March 5, and the House may take up a similar measure in the near future.

(J. Bykowicz, “Senate endorses ‘compromise’ on death penalty repeal,” Baltimore Sun, March 4, 2009). See Recent Legislative Activity.