Court halts Maryland executions
By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer
Tue Dec 19, 7:15 PM ET
BALTIMORE, Md. - An appeals court in Maryland ruled Tuesday that
state executions cannot proceed until a legislative panel reviews
parts of the manual that spell out the protocol for lethal
injections.
The Maryland Court of Appeals said the manual was never given a
public hearing or properly submitted to a joint committee before the
Department of Corrections adopted it.
The ruling comes as states nationwide are scrutinizing lethal
injection procedures. Last week, a moratorium was placed on
executions in Florida after a lethal injection was botched.
Executions also are halted in Missouri and California because of
lethal injection concerns.
The manual defines which drugs are used in a lethal injection and
how the injection occurs. Like many states, Maryland uses three
drugs during executions. Sodium pentothal makes the inmate
unconscious, pancurium bromide paralyzes the inmate's breathing, and
potassium chloride stops the heart.
The court said that the protocol outlined in the manual appears to
be consistent with state law, but that the legislative committee
charged with reviewing the protocol "may have a different view."
Under state law, lawmakers must review the protocol before it is
approved.
Delegate Anne Healey, who helps lead the committee that would review
the document, said that it was too soon to say whether the
legislature would take up lethal injection when it convenes in
January.
Karen V. Poe, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Public
Safety and Correctional Services, said attorneys for the state will
review the opinion and advise the department head on the next course
of action.
The decision was in a ruling that rejected three other challenges
from attorneys representing death row inmate Vernon Evans Jr. Evans
was sentenced to die for the murders of Scott Piechowicz and his
sister-in-law, Susan Kennedy, in 1983.
His attorney, A. Stephen Hut Jr., called the ruling "an important
win" at a time when lethal injection is under scrutiny in other
states. Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, an advocacy
group, also cheered the ruling, saying it would provide "much-needed
scrutiny of Maryland's execution protocol."
There are five men on Maryland's death row, and there are no other
executions currently scheduled. The last inmate to be executed in
the state was Wesley E. Baker on Dec. 5, 2005.
By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer
Tue Dec 19, 7:15 PM ET
BALTIMORE, Md. - An appeals court in Maryland ruled Tuesday that
state executions cannot proceed until a legislative panel reviews
parts of the manual that spell out the protocol for lethal
injections.
The Maryland Court of Appeals said the manual was never given a
public hearing or properly submitted to a joint committee before the
Department of Corrections adopted it.
The ruling comes as states nationwide are scrutinizing lethal
injection procedures. Last week, a moratorium was placed on
executions in Florida after a lethal injection was botched.
Executions also are halted in Missouri and California because of
lethal injection concerns.
The manual defines which drugs are used in a lethal injection and
how the injection occurs. Like many states, Maryland uses three
drugs during executions. Sodium pentothal makes the inmate
unconscious, pancurium bromide paralyzes the inmate's breathing, and
potassium chloride stops the heart.
The court said that the protocol outlined in the manual appears to
be consistent with state law, but that the legislative committee
charged with reviewing the protocol "may have a different view."
Under state law, lawmakers must review the protocol before it is
approved.
Delegate Anne Healey, who helps lead the committee that would review
the document, said that it was too soon to say whether the
legislature would take up lethal injection when it convenes in
January.
Karen V. Poe, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Public
Safety and Correctional Services, said attorneys for the state will
review the opinion and advise the department head on the next course
of action.
The decision was in a ruling that rejected three other challenges
from attorneys representing death row inmate Vernon Evans Jr. Evans
was sentenced to die for the murders of Scott Piechowicz and his
sister-in-law, Susan Kennedy, in 1983.
His attorney, A. Stephen Hut Jr., called the ruling "an important
win" at a time when lethal injection is under scrutiny in other
states. Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, an advocacy
group, also cheered the ruling, saying it would provide "much-needed
scrutiny of Maryland's execution protocol."
There are five men on Maryland's death row, and there are no other
executions currently scheduled. The last inmate to be executed in
the state was Wesley E. Baker on Dec. 5, 2005.
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