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ACLU challenges Maryland’s death penalty regulations;
Seeks to block executions until State complies with the law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 20, 2006                                                        

CONTACT:
Meredith Curtis, ACLU of Maryland
410-889-8555

BALTIMORE — Calling the regulations that govern the state’s administration of the death penalty out of compliance with the law, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today filed a lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court that calls for an immediate halt to executions until the State is in compliance.

“The Division of Corrections ignored the mandated public process when developing its lethal injection procedures -- with the result that the current protocols violate the law,” said Deborah A. Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland. “There is no free pass that exempts the DOC from statutory compliance, especially when the protocol in question spells out how individuals are put to death.”

The ACLU of Maryland has joined with the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP and Maryland Citizens Against State Executions in challenging the validity of the regulations set forth in the DOC’s Execution Operations Manual. The serious issues raised by today’s legal filing are especially pressing because the state is scheduled to execute Vernon Evans during the week of February 6, 2006.

“If not administered properly, death by lethal injection is extraordinarily painful and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment,” said Meredith Curtis, Public Outreach Director of the ACLU of Maryland. “As more and more incidents of faulty executions are reported across the country, it is especially important that Maryland stop putting inmates to death until the protocol gets the thorough and public discussion it deserves.”

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services’ Division of Corrections has been solely responsible for adopting regulations that set forth the proper procedures for carrying out death sentences.  The ACLU contends that several of the regulations conflict with the Death Penalty statute. Most significantly, the DOC uses an additional drug in the lethal injection cocktail that was not approved by the legislature. Additionally, the regulations were promulgated in violation of the State’s Administrative Procedure Act because the DOC did not comply with the notice and comment requirement.  The DOC also does not provide adequate training for the personnel charged with carrying out the executions.  The ACLU is asking the court to declare the regulations invalid.

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