Quixote Center
PO Box 5206 Hyattsville, MD 20782
301/699-0042 301/864-2182 (fax)

For Immediate Release: April 3, 2002
Contact: Jane Henderson (Quixote Center)
301-699-0042 office
240-604-7329 cell

Maryland Governor Declares Moratorium on Executions
Concern of racial bias and other fairness issues fuel halt

Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a halt to all executions in
his state today pending release and General Assembly review of a study
of racial bias currently in progress at the University of Maryland
College Park. The executive order comes as Maryland was preparing to
execute Wesley Baker next week.

Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend called for a moratorium last
week, just before she announced her bid for Governor.

Governor Glendening and Lieutenant Governor Townsend have done the
right thing in standing up for fairness and equal protection under the
law, said Jane Henderson of the Quixote Centers Moratorium Now!
campaign. Charges of racial bias have plagued Marylands death penalty
from the start. While the study was a good first step, the moratorium
demonstrates that the Governors office has finally gotten serious about
ensuring civil rights.

A grassroots coalition spearheaded by the Quixote Center, the Maryland
Catholic Conference, Amnesty International, and others has been actively
pressuring the Executive and legislature to halt executions over the
last several years. The coalition won a significant victory last March
when the Maryland House of Delegates passed a moratorium bill 82-54. A
filibuster in the Senate precluded the anticipated majority vote in that
house.

Also last March, 400 Marylanders including members of Congress Al Wynn
(4th District), Connie A. Morella (8th District), and Elijah E. Cummings
(7th District), Baltimore Mayor Martin OMalley, the Honorable Andrew L.
Sonner (Associate Judge, Court of Special Appeals), former Congressman
Michael D. Barnes, filmmaker John Waters, council members from Prince
Georges and Montgomery counties and Baltimore City also signed a
Baltimore Sun ad organized by Moratorium Now!, urging state legislators
and the Governor to impose a moratorium.

Moratorium Now! is a four-year-old, national campaign of the Quixote
Center working with state and local groups nationwide to build a broad
base of grassroots support for a moratorium. Moratorium bills were
introduced in 14 other states across the country this year. Over 2,000
national and local groups, municipalities and faith communities have
called for a moratorium on executions. Among those are 72 local
governments, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Atlanta,
Tallahassee, Nashville and Detroit. (For a complete listing, call
301-699-0042 or see the National Tally at www.quixote.org/ej).

To learn more about the Moratorium Now! campaign, visit
www.quixote.org/ej
For more death penalty information, visit www.deathpenaltyinfo.org