Summary: Death Penalty In Maryland

CJ 221- Criminal Law
Assignment: Final Paper
Student: Natasha Plotnikov
Due Date: 05/07/2013

“Death Penalty in Maryland”

Introduction

Maryland has reinstated the death penalty in 1978 as an option for people convicted of felony homicide. Since that time, only five convicts have been put to death and five are currently awaiting their execution. There is so much publicity available debating whether or not a death penalty is effective as it used to be in older days. (www.urbanin.org). There are other important issues that are discussed in this paper as well: cost of death penalty versus cost of a life without parole, victims’
According to our governor O’Malley the death penalty is wasteful, ineffective and does not deter crime from happening (www.usatoday.com/publications). These are very powerful words coming from a powerful government official. However, what was most appealing and most believable to me is what governor O’Malley expresses next. He believes that we should rather spend money on crime prevention and victim’s compensations than on costly death penalty procedures and appeals. (www.usatoday.com/publications). However, in Gail Ewing’s article, her opinion is very clear: “The appeals process is the problem, not the execution. The right thing to do is to keep the death penalty and to improve the appeals process to ensure that the execution happens in a reasonable amount of time” (www.gazette.net). The biggest question remains is once the death penalty is abolished, will the money really go where governor O’Malley said it would: to crime prevention and victim’s compensations? The death penalty was a very powerful way to bring the justice to the victim’s families in the state of Maryland. What will happen now after the Death penalty is abolished? What about the victim’s families and their cry for justice? This statement brings us to next very important topic of our discussion: the victims and their different perspectives on the death
It is perfectly natural for us to wish to take life of perpetrators who have taken a life of an innocent family member. If my husband or my child is murdered, there will be no justification or excuse for the killer’s actions. The life of a loved one has tragically ended by the murderer, and then I would wish nothing more than ending his life as well. It does not bring our loved ones back, but it is surely produces some closure for everyone who will be mourning the great loss for years to come. Interestingly enough, some victim’s families are against the death penalty as a punishment method. They believe that putting killers to death would be considered an easy and quick way out for them. Most murderers do not experience any remorse toward people they killed or the victim’s families. (www.mdcase.org). Therefore, to die by the means of a deadly injection would mean escaping very harsh prison environment for the rest of their lives. Moreover, some victim’s families also believe that spending life in horribly violent prison environment would make perpetrators suffer more and hopefully reflect on their wrong-doing for the rest of their miserable lives without any chance of getting out. For example, most cruel prison gangs very often eventually impose their punishments of child molesters or child rapist in very violent