State of Maryland Archives: on Crime
Thomas Perez:
We need full-scale, nationwide reform of police departments
Tom knows that we need a full-scale, nationwide reform of our police departments. In the 2020 legislative session, Democratic lawmakers put Maryland at the forefront of police reform by recognizing a call to action and passing landmark legislation that
has the potential to transform policing in Maryland and address longstanding, deeply rooted trust gaps that have catastrophic consequences. We can restore public faith in law enforcement. We can reduce crime while respecting the Constitution.
Source: 2021 Maryland Governor campaign website TomPerez.com
Jul 18, 2021
Ben Jealous:
Diversion to shrink prison population 30%
Criminal Justice: Felon voting rights rules & how to address prison population.Hogan: Supported Justice Reinvestment Act to reduce incarceration for nonviolent criminals. Recently proposed harsher sentencing requirements.
Jealous: Wants to shrink prison population 30% through additional diversion of nonviolent offenders & increasing violence intervention programs, while increasing budget of homicide police.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Maryland Governor race
Nov 1, 2018
Ian Schlakman:
Stricter punishment doesn't reduce crime
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter punishment reduces crime"?
A: Strongly oppose
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Governor candidate
Aug 21, 2018
Ben Jealous:
Smart-on-crime policies that create a just system for all
Our current criminal justice system is wasteful, inefficient, and makes us less safe.
We must implement smart-on-crime policies that ensure safety and prosperity while creating a just system for all.
Source: 2018 Maryland Gubernatorial campaign website, BenJealous.com
Jun 26, 2018
Richard Madaleno:
Require data collection on race-based traffic stops
OnTheIssues Q: what are your views on crime issues?- Voted YES on no longer requiring ex-offenders to be tested for drugs
- Voted YES on allowing persons convicted of possession of marijuana to petition for expungement of record
- Voted YES
on establishing minimum amount of $300 subject to forfeiture
- Voted YES on requiring data collection on race-based traffic stops
- Voted YES on stripping parental rights from rapists
- Voted YES to allowing ex-felons to apply for food stamps
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Governor candidate
Jun 1, 2018
Shawn Quinn:
Stricter punishment doesn't reduce crime
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter punishment reduces crime"?
A: Oppose.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Governor candidate
May 13, 2018
Richard Madaleno:
Voted NO on tougher sentences for gun crimes
Governor Larry Hogan said, "This morning, we are signing a number of important initiatives, including tougher sentences for repeat violent offenders and people who commit crimes with a gun," said Governor Hogan.In December 2017, Governor Hogan
proposed a series of crime initiatives to address repeat violent offenders and criminal gang enterprises terrorizing communities across the state. Key provisions in Senate Bill 101, signed today, include eliminating parole eligibility for repeat violent
offenders and stronger sentences for people who commit crimes with a firearm. The legislation also prohibits violent offenders from being ordered to treatment in lieu of incarceration and strengthens sentences for sexual abuse of a minor.
Legislative Outcome: Passed House 108-32-9 on March 31; passed Senate 39-8-8 on April 3; Sen. Richard Madaleno voted NAY; signed by Gov. Hogan, April 24.
Source: Gov. Hogan's press release on Maryland voting record SB.101
Apr 3, 2018
Kathy Szeliga:
Voted YES on tougher sentences for gun crimes
Governor Larry Hogan said, "This morning, we are signing a number of important initiatives, including tougher sentences for repeat violent offenders and people who commit crimes with a gun," said Governor Hogan.In December 2017, Governor Hogan
proposed a series of crime initiatives to address repeat violent offenders and criminal gang enterprises terrorizing communities across the state. Key provisions in Senate Bill 101, signed today, include eliminating parole eligibility for repeat violent
offenders and stronger sentences for people who commit crimes with a firearm. The legislation also prohibits violent offenders from being ordered to treatment in lieu of incarceration and strengthens sentences for sexual abuse of a minor.
Legislative Outcome: Passed House 108-32-9 on March 31; Del. Kathy Szeliga voted YES; passed Senate 39-8-8 on April 3; signed by Gov. Hogan, April 24.
Source: Gov. Hogan's press release on Maryland voting record SB.101
Mar 31, 2018
Arvin Vohra:
Drug crime is fake crime; abolish the DEA
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter punishment reduces crime"?A: Neutral. Most current imprisonment is for fake crime, such as drug crime. If there is no victim, there is no crime.
If elected, I will sponsor legislation to end the war on drugs, abolish the DEA, release nonviolent drug users, sellers, traffickers, and kingpins from prison, and cut taxes accordingly.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Senate candidate
Mar 30, 2018
Larry Hogan:
Crack down on violent crime with truth-in-sentencing laws
We enacted tough anti-gang legislation, including a new Maryland RICO statute. This year, let's crack down on those violent criminals who use guns to commit crimes by passing tougher minimum sentences. And pass truth-in-sentencing legislation to require
that repeat violent criminals serve their full sentences without the possibility of suspension, parole, or probation. Let's strengthen Maryland's gang statutes and RICO law to help take down these drug dealing criminal gang enterprises.
Source: 2018 Maryland State of the State address
Jan 31, 2018
Chelsea Manning:
If you live in wrong neighborhood you are in a police state
She touched on her time on prison and the effects imprisonment had on her life. She also touched on mass incarceration and the expanding population of American prisons. "We're not just in the police state. We're also in the prison state," said Manning.
"If you're in the wrong neighborhoods in this country, it looks the same as a military occupation in a foreign country." She assured the audience the only way to fix any of these problems is to set apart all of our differences and work together.
Source: Free Press Houston on 2018 Maryland Senate race
Dec 20, 2017
Alec Ross:
Education key to addressing crime
Ross said in the short term, more police presence can drive down crime, but in the long term, he advocates for more resources to city schools. "If you said to me, 'In 10 years, will
Baltimore be a safer place if we double the number of police officers or double the number of teachers?' I think we would be a safer city if we doubled the number of teachers."
Source: WBAL-TV on 2018 Maryland gubernatorial race
Jun 20, 2017
Larry Hogan:
Justice for Victims Initiative: protect vulnerable citizens
Last year, we worked across the aisle to enact the Justice Reinvestment Act, which is the most important criminal justice reform in a generation. We worked to pass Noah's Law, named after Montgomery County police office--and a true Maryland hero--
Noah Leotta. We have already accomplished a great deal. But together, we can--and we must--do more.
This year, we plan to enact our Justice for Victims Initiative to improve services for the victims of crimes and to reduce the number of future victims of crime. We need to enact the Repeat Sexual Predator Prevention Act of 2017, the
Protecting Victims of Sex Trafficking Act, and the Repeat Drunk Driving Offenders Act. All of this legislation will help make Maryland safer and will protect the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Maryland Legislature
Feb 1, 2017
Anthony Brown:
Protect victims of domestic violence with better services
[As Lieutenant Governor], Anthony has championed a number of issues:- Protected victims of domestic violence by providing them with better access to services and protections under the law.
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Encouraged and recruited families to become foster or adoptive parents.
- Expanded employment and health services and to Veterans.
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Increased state aid to public school construction resulting in the construction of Nantucket Elementary School in Crofton and Wise High School in Upper Marlboro.
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Increased state aid to Anne Arundel Community College and Prince George's Community College by more than thirty percent.
Source: 2016 Maryland House campaign website AnthonyBrown.com
Nov 8, 2016
Margaret Flowers:
Racial justice: end disparities in incarceration
Racial injustice is deeply rooted in Maryland and throughout the United States. We see it everyday in policies that affect investment in communities, affordable housing, education, health care, access to high quality jobs, drug use, policing and
mass incarceration."Racial justice will be achieved when the root causes of it are addressed. This will require more than changing attitudes and practices, we need to end disparities in wealth, health and incarceration.
And it means policies that empower communities to have greater control over decisions that impact them, including community control of police, and investment in programs that end poverty and build community wealth.
It means drug policies that are based on public health and harm reduction; and it means taking the profit out of prisons. We need to honor the dignity of every human being."
Source: 2016 Maryland Senate campaign website, FlowersForSenate.org
Aug 8, 2016
Larry Hogan:
Vetoed expansion of voting rights to 40,000 ex-offenders
Several states have turned away from harsh criminal sentences and raised new questions about what happens to offenders once they are released, including their ability to participate fully in society. In February, the Maryland State Senate overrode a
veto by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and expanded voting rights to 40,000 ex-offenders. In that the case, the law allowed ex-convicts to vote while on parole or probation. But the policies have been
controversial and provoked a partisan divide. Last December, newly elected Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) reversed an executive order by his Democratic predecessor to grant voting rights to ex-felons in
the state once they had completed their sentences. Governor Bevin framed his opposition to the executive order signed by then-Gov. Steve Beshear (D) on procedural rather than ideological terms.
Source: Christian Science Monitor on Maryland veto/voting records
Apr 22, 2016
Martin O`Malley:
Repealed death penalty; reduced prison incarceration
Today, with courageous law enforcement officers, we have now reduced violent crime to 30 year lows. With our first responders, shock trauma doctors and nurses, traffic deaths have been reduced now to the lowest levels in decades. We enacted common
sense measures to reduce gun violence. We repealed the death penalty and replaced it with life without the possibility of parole. And there are now fewer people incarcerated in Maryland's prisons today than at any time since 1994.
Source: 2014 State of the State Address to Maryland legislature
Jan 23, 2014
Kathy Szeliga:
Voted NO on repealing the death penalty
SB 276 Repeals the Death Penalty
Bill Passed House (82 - 56); Rep. Kathy Szeliga voted Nay .Highlights: - Repeals the death penalty in the state of Maryland
- Authorizes the governor to change the death sentence of an inmate into a sentence of
life without the possibility of parole
- Specifies that any pending case filed with the intention to seek the death penalty be automatically changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Source: VoteSmart synopsis of 2013-2014 Maryland voting records
Mar 15, 2013
Jamie Raskin:
Voted YES on repealing the death penalty
SB 276 Repeals the Death Penalty
Bill Passed House (82-56-3); passed Senate (27-20-0); Sen. Raskin voted YEA.Highlights: - Repeals the death penalty in the state of Maryland
- Authorizes the governor to change the death sentence of
an inmate into a sentence of life without the possibility of parole
- Specifies that any pending case filed with the intention to seek the death penalty be automatically changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Source: VoteSmart synopsis of 2013-2014 Maryland legislative records
Mar 6, 2013
Richard Madaleno:
Voted YES on repealing the death penalty
SB 276 Repeals the Death Penalty
Bill Passed House (82-56-3); passed Senate (27-20-0); Sen. Madaleno voted YEA.Highlights: - Repeals the death penalty in the state of Maryland
- Authorizes the governor to change the death sentence of
an inmate into a sentence of life without the possibility of parole
- Specifies that any pending case filed with the intention to seek the death penalty be automatically changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Source: VoteSmart synopsis of 2013-2014 Maryland legislative records
Mar 6, 2013
Corrogan Vaughn:
Restore the rights to non-violent ex-offenders
Corrogan co-hosted a radio show, “Rockin’ D Vote”, a show designed to increase voter registrations & familiarize the listeners with current political events, and bring about the restoration of rights to non-violent ex-offenders.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, campaignsecrets.com/maryland
Nov 6, 2006
Michael Steele:
More focus on victims of violent crime
Protect Victims of Violent Crime:- Congress should fully-fund the Justice for All Act to help remove the DNA backlog and provide complete justice for rape victims, greatly expanding the ability for state and federal law enforcement officials to
track down and prosecute violent criminals.
- Protect funding for the Victims of Crime Act, which Pres. Bush has proposed moving to a general fund, so criminal fines and penalties will continue to support victim assistance and prevention programs.
Source: 2006 Senate website, michaelsteeleformaryland.com, “Issues”
Oct 25, 2006
Michael Steele:
Mandatory sentencing guidelines for child sex offenders
Prosecute Sex Offenders:- Ensure sentencing guidelines for child sex offenders are mandatory - not just advisory.
- Work with Internet providers, credit card companies, and Internet search engines to form a partnership dedicated to ending the
evil pursuits of online child predators and child pornographers.
- Secure funding for the Sex Offender and Compliance Enforcement in Maryland (SOCEM), which protects Maryland families and children from sex offenders.
Source: 2006 Senate website, michaelsteeleformaryland.com, “Issues”
Oct 25, 2006
Michael Steele:
Combat the proliferation of gangs
Michael is committed to fighting poverty, drug addiction and criminal recidivism. He is devoted to securing Maryland neighborhoods and building safer streets by fighting crime. Michael worked to combat the proliferation of gangs threatening the
well-being of Maryland communities and the safety of Maryland children. Michael led the way in convening a Statewide Planning Group to develop a strategy to both prevent and respond to gang activity.
Source: Campaign site, MichaelSteeleForMaryland.com, “On the Issues”
May 2, 2006
Page last updated: Oct 13, 2021