Maryland's legislature voted today to end the state's use of the death penalty. The governor – who supported the ban – will make it official next month. Maryland is the 18th state to ban the death penalty.
NBC News reports:
Maryland has five men on death row; the new legislation would allow the governor to commute their sentences. The state last executed someone in 2005. It has put five people to death since reinstating the death penalty in 1978. The House of Delegates rejected more than 20 proposed amendments to the ban, most proposed by Republicans, including some that would have allowed the death penalty in certain cases, such as child murders and the killing of police officers.
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