Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The three-term Democratic senator believes the death penalty should be placed on the 2014 ballot but finding voters to sign the petition might be a challenge.
Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio. The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland. "If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?" Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The results of the Quinnipiac University poll come as proponents of reinstating the death penalty in Maryland say the law is needed because of incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing.
Americans support the death penalty for terrorists, according to a national poll released by Quinnipiac University. The national survey found that 63 percent favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder involving an act of terrorism compared to 32 percent who said they opposed capital punishment. The results of the poll come as political leaders including Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott announced a plan to collect more than 55,000 signatures in order to reinstate the death penalty in Maryland. "One only has to look back to Oklahoma City, Aurora, CO, Newtown, CT, and the recent massacre in Boston to recognize that if these crimes were …
Friday, May 3, 2013
The effort to place the issue on the ballot will be led by Democratic Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott.
Proponents of the death penalty in Maryland will attempt to overturn at the ballot box a new law repealing capital punishment. The effort to place the issue before voters in 2014 will be spearheaded by Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Del. Neil Parrott. The pair is expected to make the effort to collect the required 55,736 official during a Friday morning announcement near Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Shellenberger said the death penalty is an important tool for prosecutors. "One only has to look at what has taken place in our country in the last 10 years—Virginia Tech; Aurora, CO; Boston," Shellenberger said. "We don't know what is going to happen in the future but we should at least have the …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Councilman Todd Huff's request for a jury trial in Circuit Court raises concerns because of family connections and recent zoning decisions, according to a legal scholar.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said Wednesday he will seek a prosecutor from a neighboring jurisdiction to handle the drunken driving case against Councilman Todd Huff. Huff, who was arrested Feb. 23, has requested a jury trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court—a move that a legal scholar says raises concerns because of Huff's relationship with the family of Circuit Court Administrative Judge John Grason Turnbull II and a recent zoning decision related to property owned by the judge. Shellenberger Wednesday said his decision to ask a prosecutor from a neighboring jurisdiction to handle the case "is not common but it's not unusual either" when the case is politically charged. "The County Council decides the budget for…
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Capital punishment in Maryland already is effectively dead, according to some prosecutors.
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Saturday, February 9
By Julia Maldonado, Capital News Service A bill that would repeal the death penalty in Maryland appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, adding momentum to Gov. Martin O’Malley and proponents’ push for repeal. But some prosecutors and other death penalty supporters say a repeal would only make official what is already true—capital punishment doesn’t really exist in Maryland. The state has one of the most restrictive death penalty laws in the country. Combine that with bureaucratic opposition from the governor and judges’ reluctance to impose the ultimate penalty, and even the most violent criminals are not likely to ever be executed, some say. “I don’t want them to ever have the opportunity to do it again,” said Sen. Kathleen …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Hundreds head to Annapolis to testify for and against a package of bills that would tighten gun regulations in Maryland.
Gun control supporters and opponents descended on a hearing room in Annapolis to debate a package of bills that is likely to be as divisive as any issue during the 90-day General Assembly session. Gov. Martin O'Malley said his legislation was driven by the shootings in Newtown, CT. and more than 500 shooting deaths in Maryland last year. "We are still losing too many of our citizens to gun violence," O'Malley said. "There's no such thing in our state as a spare American." Hundreds gathered outside the State House Wednesday morning, hours before O'Malley was to testify, to rally against the proposed laws. A line of people waiting to testify stretched outside the Senate office building. More than 500 people signed up to testify even though …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Friends said the Baltimore County Circuit Court judge handled some of the toughest cases in the state but was also known for her sense of humor and office pranks.
A lover of the law. A tough prosecutor. An office prankster. Friends said Judge S. Ann Brobst, a Towson resident who died Monday after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 59, was a combination of those characteristics. Over the course of 30-years, Brobst earned a reputation as a tough, whip-smart prosecutor that was belied by her diminutive stature and long blond hair. "She looked like she went to college on a cheerleader scholarship," said District Court Judge Leo Ryan, who worked with Brobst in the county state's attorney's office. "There was this dichotomy because despite the way she looked, she was a tough prosecutor." State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger worked with Brobst from 1982 until Shellenberger left the …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Damonya Cook and Keith Burgess were convicted for their involvement in the Feb. 19, 2011 death of Vincent Thomas in Baltimore Highlands.
Two men have been sentenced for their part in the shooting death of Vincent Thomas. Damonya Cook and Keith Burgess were sentenced Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court by Judge Ann Brobst, according to a statement released by Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger. Damonya Cook was sentenced to life in prison and a five-year consecutive sentence. Burgess was sentenced to life with all but 35 years suspended. Thomas was found shot to death in a field at Annapolis Road and Illinois Avenue in Baltimore Highlands on February 19, 2011. He was shot four times in the back and once in the chest. Cook and Burgess were arrested about a month later. Police believe an ongoing dispute between Cook and Thomas led to the shooting. …
Thursday, October 25, 2012
A phone call tip allowed the editor to score big with internet gambling parlor raid.
Last May I wrote about winning $7.75 in less than 15 minutes at a now-closed Internet Sweepstakes parlor on East Drive in Arbutus. “It’s definitely gambling,” said Kathryn Rowe, Assistant Attorney General for the State of Maryland. “It’s illegal." When I asked county police and the State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger about enforcement back in May, I got their best poker faces. "I haven't received any citizen complaints," Shellenberger said at the time. "Until somebody brings us a complaint, we won't take any action." "We're waiting for legal opinions from the state's attorney," police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathleen Batton said in May. During a Wednesday morning Patch meeting, I received a call from John Cox, Deputy State's Attorney for the …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Robert W. Gladden Jr. is charged as an adult in Monday's shooting of a fellow student at the high school.
A Wednesday bail review hearing for Robert W. Gladden Jr. has been canceled. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, in a one sentence statement Wednesday morning, said Gladden "remains at a local medical facility." Gladden, 15, is accused of shooting Daniel Borowy, 17, on Monday at the Perry Hall High School cafeteria. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. During a news conference Tuesday, county officials said Gladden was undergoing a mental health evaluation at a local hospital.
amark
12:17 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
I have already signed the petition. If it makes it to a vote, I believe the people would say yes to reinstating capital punishment. I never had confidence that the ones last year would not be wins for owe'malley. more ›