Maryland has life without parole.  A jury decides the sentence.  The Governor has the authority to commute any death sentence into confinement for a length of time that the Governor deems appropriate.

In the final year of his term of office, governor Paris Glendenning imposed a moratorium on executions, which lasted until it was lifted by Governor Erlich in January 2003. Glendenning was also reponsible for the states second pardon, when clemency was granted to Eugene Colvin-el. Maryland has only executed three inmates since reinstatement in 1994, and none since Steven Oken in June 2004.