The Maryland death penalty was abolished in 2013, and no one has been executed under state law since. Governor Martin O’Malley signed Senate Bill 276 that year, making Maryland the 18th state to end capital punishment. The harshest sentence a Maryland state court can now impose for first-degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Federal prosecutors, however, can still seek the death penalty for certain federal crimes committed inside Maryland.
How Maryland Ended Capital Punishment
Senate Bill 276 was introduced as an administration bill during the 2013 legislative session. It repealed the death penalty along with every statutory provision related to it, including the rules governing how executions were administered and the post-sentencing proceedings that followed a capital verdict.1Maryland General Assembly. SB 276 – Death Penalty Repeal – Substitution of Life Without the Possibility of Parole O’Malley argued the punishment was applied inconsistently and cost too much to maintain. The Senate passed the bill on March 6, 2013, and the House of Delegates followed on March 15 with an 82-56 vote.
The law took effect October 1, 2013.2Maryland General Assembly. Legislation – SB0276 Codified as Chapter 156 of the Acts of 2013, it stripped every reference to capital punishment from the state criminal code and installed life without parole as the maximum penalty for first-degree murder. The bill also amended the Correctional Services Article to give the governor explicit authority to convert existing death sentences into life without parole.3Maryland Courts. Capital Punishment – Death Row Inmate
The last execution in Maryland took place well before the repeal. Wesley Baker was put to death on December 5, 2005, and legal challenges to the state’s lethal injection procedures kept the execution chamber closed for the eight years leading up to abolition.
What Happened to the Five Men on Death Row
The repeal applied only to crimes committed on or after October 1, 2013. It did nothing on its own to change the sentences of the five men already condemned, some of whom had been on death row for decades. In theory, they could still have been executed if their appeals ran out. The Senate had added an amendment to the repeal bill expressing its preference that the sentences be commuted, but the choice belonged to the governor.
On December 31, 2014, O’Malley used his clemency power to commute all five death sentences to life without parole. The Maryland Constitution grants the governor broad authority to issue reprieves and pardons for any offense except impeachment.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Constitution Article II – Section 20 – Reprieves and Pardons The commutations emptied Maryland’s death row.
The Maximum Sentence Today
Under Maryland Criminal Law § 2-201, a person convicted of first-degree murder faces either life without parole or a standard life sentence.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Law 2-201 – Murder in the First Degree A standard life sentence is the default. Life without parole is the more severe option and requires the prosecution to clear extra procedural hurdles.
To seek life without parole, prosecutors must give the defendant written notice at least 30 days before trial.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Criminal Law 2-203 – Murder in the First Degree – Sentence of Imprisonment for Life Without the Possibility of Parole If the jury convicts, the court holds a separate sentencing proceeding where jurors decide whether to impose the harsher sentence. That decision must be unanimous. If the jury cannot agree, the sentence defaults to standard life, which carries the eventual possibility of parole.7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Criminal Law 2-304 – First Degree Murder Sentencing Proceeding
Not every first-degree murder conviction ends in life without parole. The prosecution must affirmatively pursue it, give timely notice, and then persuade every juror. Prosecutors have real discretion over which cases carry the harshest possible outcome.
Federal Death Penalty in Maryland
The 2013 repeal reaches only state prosecutions. Federal law has its own death penalty, and it applies to federal offenses wherever they occur, Maryland included. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3591, federal prosecutors can seek death for crimes such as terrorism, large-scale drug trafficking resulting in death, and the intentional killing of federal officials.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3591 – Sentence of Death
This is not hypothetical. In early 2025, the Trump administration directed federal prosecutors to review pending criminal cases nationwide, including cases in Maryland, to decide whether to seek the death penalty. A defendant charged with a qualifying federal offense in Maryland faces the full range of federal sentencing options regardless of state law.
Attempts to Bring It Back
The repeal has drawn some legislative pushback. During the 2024 session, House Bill 87 proposed reinstating the death penalty for first-degree murder cases meeting specified criteria.9Maryland General Assembly. Criminal Law – Death Penalty – HB 87 The bill did not advance. Every neighboring jurisdiction has also moved away from capital punishment: Virginia abolished its death penalty in 2021, Delaware in 2016, and the District of Columbia has never had one.