FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

CJ Frogozo,CJ@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 310.570.2622

Rachel Tardiff, Rachel@FitzGibbonMedia.com, 202.746.1507

Annapolis, MD – Hundreds of ColorOfChange members from Maryland have signed onto a campaign calling for the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland. ColorOfChange is part of a growing coalition of civil rights and faith organizations putting pressure on Senate President Mike Miller, who despite his personal opposition and a history of blocking a vote, just last week relented to public pressure and will allow a full Senate vote on repeal to go forward.

“Maryland ColorOfChange members understand that race and geography far too often decide which defendants are sentenced to death,” said ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. “It is clear that there is a pattern of blatant racial prejudice in our application of capital punishment. The Maryland General Assembly should take the opportunity to correct a historical, grievous wrong in our criminal justice system and repeal the death penalty this year.”

Despite over three quarters of Maryland’s homicide victims being Black, every person who has been sentenced to death in Maryland since 1978 was accused of killing a white person. A landmark 2003 study from the University of Maryland found that race of the victim and geography “substantially and significantly” affect whether a prosecutor seeks the death penalty.

“Racial fears are manifesting themselves in Maryland’s application of the death penalty,” said ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. “Of the 10 men executed or sentenced to death in Maryland since 1978, 7 were Black and 6 were tried in Baltimore County—a predominantly white county surrounding a predominantly Black city. It is unconscionable that 4 white members of the Judicial Proceedings committee from Baltimore County are blocking a full vote to repeal this racially motivated punishment.”

Racial fear has long-clouded the application of the death penalty in Maryland and all other states where it exists. After Troy Davis’ execution in September 2011, we made an organizational commitment to work towards ending the death penalty in this country. ColorOfChange.org members remain committed to pressuring members of Maryland’s General Assembly to ensure that this year this state becomes the 18th to ban the death penalty.

To view the petition and for more information on the campaign please visit: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/MDdeathpenalty/

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With more than 850,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest Black online civil rights organization.