I issued the following statement on the death penalty this afternoon.

I continue to believe that Maryland should end capital punishment. The Civiletti Commission, on which I served, identified significant problems in how the death penalty is applied in our state. The Commission concluded that these problems can not be fixed.

The possibility of the State of Maryland’s executing an innocent person is one of those flaws. Over the last 35 years, there have been 1,125 executions and 130 exonerations of innocent persons nationwide from death row

I have concluded that the likelihood of executing an innocent person will be significantly reduced by the enactment of the amended version of Senate Bill 279. This legislation would place important new restrictions on the types of cases in which prosecutors can seek the death penalty.

I applaud Governor O’Malley and Senator Gladden for their courageous leadership on this issue. If we are not to end the death penalty, Senators Zirkin and Brochin are to be commended for the amendments that they offered.

Several years ago, I concluded that we should repeal the death penalty. The reason underlying my decision: the time and money spent litigating and legislating on this issue should be put to far better use.

Keeping people safe where they live, work, and play is one of the primary obligations of government. The resources diverted to the death penalty diminish our capacity to fulfill that requirement.

The money spent on death penalty cases could be used instead to target career offenders, protect at-risk children, and identify youthful offenders who are on the road to becoming murderers. plan a route .

In the years ahead, I am confident that the General Assembly will revisit the other issues raised in the Civiletti Commission report, such as racial and jurisdictional disparities in how the death penalty is applied and the detrimental impact it has on the lives of victims’ families.

For now, I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in supporting the Senate bill and opposing any amendments.