Maryland Repeals Death Penalty

Legalized killings will now be reserved for cops

Maryland officially became the sixth state in six years to repeal the death penalty Thursday. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the repeal bill, checking off a major legislative priority in what he called, "the most productive legislative session in modern memory."

"We have a responsibility to stop doing the things that are wasteful and ineffective," O'Malley said at the bill signing, referring to his view that the death penalty does not deter violent crime.

O'Malley, a Democrat, signed the bill surrounded by supporters, including NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and Kirk Bloodsworth, who was exonerated from Maryland's death row in 1993 after DNA analysis showed he was not guilty of murdering a young girl.