Maryland General Assembly passes bill that limits death penalty

[charlie and algernon]

The General Assembly just passed a bill today that severly limits the death penalty in Maryland.

This is hot off the presses, so here is a Washington Post article from this morning about today's vote:

Md. Likely to Pass Death Penalty Bill

Some of the nation's tightest restrictions on death penalty cases are expected to win final approval today in the Maryland General Assembly, allowing Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to claim a partial victory after failing to persuade lawmakers to ban executions.

The measure would limit capital cases to those with biological or DNA evidence, a videotaped confession or a videotape linking the defendant to a homicide. Those are among the steepest hurdles faced by prosecutors in the 35 states that have a death penalty.

O'Malley has said he will sign the bill and considers it "a step forward," although it falls short of the repeal bill that he sponsored this year and pledged to do everything in his power to pass.

"In matters of life and death, we should err on the side of making sure an innocent person is not put to death," Del. Anne Healey (D-Prince George's) told colleagues yesterday as they rejected a half-dozen amendments that sought to broaden the bill, which the Senate has passed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032501643.html