Thursday, May 2, 2013
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Del. Neil Parrott are scheduled to make an announcement Friday morning.
Two elected officials Friday are expected to make an announcement related to a possible effort to overturn Maryland's repeal of the death penalty -- a measure signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott are expected to make an announcement related to an effort to place the issue on the 2014 ballot as a referendum question. Parrott runs the website MDPetitions.com, which was responsible for placing laws such as the state's recognition of same sex marriage on the 2012 ballot. Shellenberger testified against the repeal of the death penalty during hearings in Annapolis earlier this year. A March poll released by the …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A survey by Goucher College finds support on issues from banning assault-style weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds to fingerprinting and prohibitions on owning weapons for persons who are involuntarily committed.
From bans on assault-style weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines to fingerprinting anyone purchasing a gun, a new poll finds that a majority of Marylanders want stricter state gun laws. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College believe those purchasing a gun should be fingerprinted. The poll also found: Last month the Maryland Senate approved sweeping changes to gun laws that requires a license for all handgun purchases, bans of sales of assault-style weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, requires fingerprinting for new gun purchases, and prohibits anyone involuntarily committed involuntarily for mental health reasons or who …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
New Goucher College poll finds the public is almost evenly split on the job performance of both Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly.
A narrow majority of Marylanders believe the state is headed in the wrong direction and most are split on the job performance of Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed in a poll conducted by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College believe the state is on the wrong track compared to 44 percent who think it is going in the right direction. The same poll gave mixed reviews on the job performance of the governor and state legislators. Forty-six percent of Marylanders polled said they held a favorable view of O’Malley compared to 45 percent who said they held an unfavorable view. When asked O’Malley's job performance as governor, 47 percent approved and 43 percent disapproved. …
The latest poll from Goucher College shows that the majority of those polled do not see capital punishment as a deterrent to criminals.
A majority of Marylanders surveyed in a newly released poll say they favor retaining the death penalty in Maryland but appear to prefer life in prison without parole as a punishment for murder. The poll released by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College found that 51 percent of those surveyed favored retaining capital punishment in Maryland compared to 43 percent who said they favored abolishing the law. The poll released Wednesday afternoon comes just before the House of Delegates takes a scheduled preliminary vote on a bill to abolish the death penalty. That vote is scheduled for some time after 6 p.m. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed disagree that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder, while 37 …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
A new poll released by Goucher College shows that Marylanders see negative effects on local and national economies but not always their own finances.
A majority of Marylanders say they are concerned about the effects of the federal sequester on state and national economies even if they aren't sure it will affect them personally, according a poll released Tuesday afternoon. The poll released by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College found that 75 percent of those surveyed said the automatic federal spending cuts that went into effect March 1 will negatively impact the state economy while 68 percent said the cuts would hurt the national economy. National Issue, Local Effect Closer to home, only 47 percent of those surveyed said the cuts would negatively impact their own personal finances. Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center, said the …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The charity for breast cancer patients celebrates its 10th annual 5K.
When Christopher Schardt lost his wife Ginny to breast cancer in 2002, all the fight that had been in him and their family and friends didn't go away. "You spend every day, every hour of every day fighting the disease and then when it ends you still have that momentum, you have that drive to make something happen," he said. "We still have a fight to fight." Ten years later, the Baltimore resident is still fighting. Schardt's family and friends, as well as the family and friends of Ginny's friend, Jessica Cowling (who also succumbed to breast cancer in 2002) started The Red Devils. On Sunday, the group runs its 10th annual 5K run and stroll at Goucher College. The North Baltimore nonprofit—named after a form of chemotherapy—aims not to find…
Christopher Kidwell
1:35 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Exactly right. Our 'system of justice', what some people call a 'system of just-us' (pointing out the numerous inequities of our system) is not fool-proof in the slightest. We have documented cases of people being put on death row or even being executed for crimes that they did not commit. When that is the case, it's well past time to get rid of the death penalty and realize that until we have … more ›