|
Year of Reenactment
(since 1972 suspension) |
1975 | |
|
Year of First Execution
(since reenactment) |
1994 | |
| Year of Abolition |
2013 |
|
|
History
|
1809-1956: hanging |
|
|
Last Method
|
Lethal injection Choice between lethal injection or lethal gas if the inmate committed the offense before March 24, 1994 |
|
|
|
|
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 Parris Glendening imposed a moratorium on executions, which lasted until it was lifted by Governor Ehrlich in January 2003. Glendening was also responsible for the states second pardon, when clemency was granted to Eugene Colvin-el. Maryland has only executed five inmates since reinstatement in 1994, and none since Wesley Baker in December 2005.
In 2013, Maryland became the 18th state to abolish the death penalty, and the 6th state to do so in 6 years. The abolition was prospective, meaning that it did not apply to the individuals who were sentenced to death before the law was passed. Before leaving office in January 2015, Gov. Martin O'Malley commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole.