Summary
Two actions taken this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley make clear that even in Maryland, one of the most liberal states in the union, politicians are very reluctant to be seen as soft on crime: his veto of legislation that would have made twice-convicted drug dealers eligible for parole after serving just 25 percent of their sentences and his signing of legislation to abolish parole for violent sexual predators. The latter legislation signed into law by Mr. O'Malley implements "Jessica's Law," named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year- old Florida girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender.
In mid-March, it appeared that the bill faced an uphill battle - to put it mildly. Senate President Mike Miller was not a supporter, and Sen. Brian Frosh, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, was strongly opposed to the bill. But Mr. Frosh overplayed his hand, forcing Mark Klaas, the father of a murdered child who had come from out of state to testify in support of the legislation, to cool his heels for nearly five and a half hours while the committee dealt with less important bills. Mr. Miller was properly outraged by this behavior, and he forced Mr. Frosh to permit the bill to be voted out of committee and come to the Senate floor, where it passed on a 43-3 vote.See the full content of this document
Extract
O'malley, Liberals and Crime
But the bill still faced an uphill fight in the House of Delegates, where Judiciary Com...
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