[JURIST] A bill to repeal the Maryland death penalty [JURIST news archive] failed in the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee [official website] Thursday when the committee members tied in a 5-5 vote. Swing vote Sen. Alex X. Mooney (R) [official profile] voted against the bill after unsuccessfully lobbying for an exemption for prisoners who kill again while serving a jail term. Bill sponsor Sen. Lisa A. Gladden (D) [official profile] said that without the Senate's endorsement she will not call for a vote on the bill in the General Assembly [official website].

The bill, which had the support [JURIST report] of Governor Martin O’Malley (D) [official profile], was debated vigorously after the Maryland Court of Appeals [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in December to suspend executions [JURIST report] while it reviewed the state’s lethal injection [JURIST news archive] procedures to determine if they should be adopted as regulations. The moratorium remains in place. The Baltimore Sun has more.