The Death Penalty, New Posts For Senator Cardin And Congressman Harris, and The Latest On John Leopold's Legal Battles And The Anne Arundel County Executive's Seat

Governor Martin O'Malley urged Maryland lawmakers to repeal the state's death penalty, in appearances before committees in the State Senate and the House of Delegates. O'Malley says that capital punishment is "ineffective, flawed, and arbitrary." The Governor also said that capital punishment is expensive -- and said that repeal could free up millions of dollars. Supporters of the death penalty question whether repeal would really save the state any money -- and say that capital punishment should be kept for the most henious crimes. O'Malley wants capital punishment to be replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole (via our wire service; more here and here from the Baltimore Sun; more here from the Gazette). 

Former Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold, who resigned from office after being found guilty on two misconduct charges, recently went to court to ask for a new trial. But he's not getting one. A judge said yesterday the request was "without merit." Noon today is the deadline for people who want to be the next Anne Arundel County Executive to apply for the post; the County Council will vote next week on who will serve out the rest of Leopold's term. And an opinion issued yesterday by a former State Soliciter General says that no member of the Anne Arundel County Council can be appointed to the County Executive's post (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

An effort to bring more transparency to the General Assembly has failed; the State Senate yesterday voted down a proposal that would have required Senate commitees to webcast their voting sessions. Committee hearings are already webcast, but to see the to see the committee votes take place, Marylanders have to come to Annapolis. Audio archives of the committee votes are also available -- but the Senators aren't identified in the recordings, so figuring out who is who can often be difficult (via marylandreporter.com and the Baltimore Sun). 

"The Lines Between Us" is WYPR's year-long series about inequality in the Baltimore region. It airs every Friday at 9am on Maryland Morning. Today the series begins several weeks of reporting on income inequality. At 9am, we’ll hear about the region’s dwindling universe of middle-class neighborhoods. Now, here’s Maryland Morning senior producer Lawrence Lanahan, on why it’s taken four months for our series to start covering income inequality. 

On today's edition of Inside Maryland Politics, WYPR's Fraser Smith and Julie Scharper of the Baltimore Sun talk about the increase in state funding for Maryland's public universities and its potential effect on student graduation.

First District Congressman Andy Harris has been named as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

US Senator Ben Cardin is the new chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, taking over from retired Virginia Senator Jim Webb (via our wire service; more online here).

Maryland State Police say they are conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting that occurred earlier this week during a Baltimore Police Academy training exercise (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Up to 100 Baltimore County workers are needed at the Sparrows Point Shipyard and Industrial Park in Dundalk (via our wire service and the Baltimore Business Journal).

Nearly $1-million could soon be headed to Frederick County's TransIT bus service (via the Gazette).

And... THREE YEARS before the New Hampshire Presidential Primary ot 2016, there's a new poll out gauging support for various candidates. The leader in the poll was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- who had the support of 63% of Granite State voters. Clinton hasn't said whether she'll enter the race. Governor Martin O'Malley is widely expected to do so... but he was picked by less than 1% of those polled. Low name recognition probably didn't help -- the Baltimore Sun reports that some 80% of the New Hampshire voters polled don't know who O'Malley is.