Two elected officials Friday are expected to make an announcement related to a possible effort to overturn Maryland's repeal of the death penalty -- a measure signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott are expected to make an announcement related to an effort to place the issue on the 2014 ballot as a referendum question.
Parrott runs the website MDPetitions.com, which was responsible for placing laws such as the state's recognition of same sex marriage on the 2012 ballot.
Shellenberger testified against the repeal of the death penalty during hearings in Annapolis earlier this year.
A March poll released by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College found that a majority of Marylanders surveyed favored retaining the death penalty but preferred life in prison without parole as a punishment for murder.
The poll reported that 51 percent of those surveyed favored retaining capital punishment in Maryland compared to 43 percent who said they favored abolishing the law.
“During this past week, the Maryland General Assembly has taken the first steps to add Maryland to the list of 17 other states that have abolished the use of the death penalty,” Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center, said in March. “While citizens appear to overestimate its use, prefer life imprisonment without parole, and express doubts over whether the death penalty deters murder, half of Maryland residents do not want the death penalty taken completely off the table.”
The Friday announcement regarding a possible effort to collect the required 55,736 signatures is scheduled just one day after O'Malley signed the repeal into law in Annapolis.
O'Malley made the repeal of the death penalty one of his legislative priorities in 2013.