Soccer Dad on the Death Penalty Click HERE to Bring Up Full Post

Soccer Dad has a good post on the state of Maryland's death penalty. I don't know that his piece makes the sale for me for the death penalty itself, but it does a great job of debunking a lot of the theoretical, practical and political opposition to it in Maryland.

I am not sold that the death penalty is administered in a racially discriminatory manner in Maryland; like Soccer Dad, I don't see a large enough sample size. It appears to be the case that the racial balance of the jury pool correlates to the frequency of the pursuit of the death penalty in Maryland's different jurisdictions. In my view, the quality of evidence may also come into play; the "stop snitching" culture of Baltimore crime makes it a lot harder than elsewhere to pursue all criminal prosecutions both at trial and on appeal. Add in the extreme cost of a death penalty case, and it's easier to respect the Baltimore City State's Attorney's choice never (or nearly never) to pursue the death penalty.