Death Penalty repeal was a bad idea

            Death Penalty Repeal is a bad idea.

Just last week some in Annapolis voted to repeal the death penalty; I was not one of them. In fact on second reader I submitted an amendment that said, “ If you kill a Police Officer while he was performing his duty” you would still be eligible for the Death Penalty.  There was also an amendment that said if you kill a Correctional Officer in the performance of his duty you would be eligible for the Death Penalty.

During testimony in the Judiciary committee we heard many arguments both for the repeal and against the repeal. The most compelling for me were the ones against the repeal.  The first argument was by the States Attorneys who prosecute these cases.  Many times when the death penalty is in play in a case the defendants will plead to a lesser sentence, Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole, avoiding a lengthy trial and appeals. They also argued that in the most horrendous cases the death penalty is the right sentence. As a former Police Officer I saw one of these crimes.  On my very first SWAT operation we were called to a home where the father executed his wife and 3 children ages 3-9 years of age. In this case the father also killed himself before we could arrest him. I do believe that if he was arrested he should have received the death penalty for his crimes. We just saw what happened in Colorado and Connecticut where multiple murders were committed. In both of those cases if the perpetrator was apprehended he should have received the death penalty. We can look at many cases like this here in Maryland and come up with the same conclusion. Take the case now being tried in the City where 2 men are accused of hacking to death several children, should not these two get the death penalty if convicted. Sometimes these evil people should face the ultimate justice.

More compelling testimony came from our Correctional Officers. They say that without the death penalty they are now bigger targets than before. If a convict kills a corrections officer he can only get life without parole, if he kills another he can only get life without parole. How many officers deaths will it take to realize we made a mistake?

It is for these reasons along with at least a dozen more that I voted not to repeal the death penalty.

Delegate John Cluster

8th Legislative District