The Sun - March 23

 Death penalty bill goes forward

By Sarah Koenig, Sun Staff A two-year moratorium on the death penalty received unexpectedly strong backing in a General Assembly committee Thursday, giving big hopes to proponents of a measure that looked doomed just two months ago. The House Judiciary Committee voted 14-7 to approve the bill, which would halt executions until the University of Maryland completes a study on whether the state uses capital punishment unfairly against African-Americans. Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. said Thursday night that the measure will go to the floor of the House of Delegates for debate Friday. The committee's vote shortly before 5 p.m. capped a day of nervous head-counting by sponsors of the bill. By noon, they figured they had 11 solid votes, one short of a majority. On hearing the final count, Del. Salima S. Marriott, a Baltimore Democrat who has pushed aggressively for a moratorium for several years, could barely contain her glee.