Maryland may see more executions soon

BALTIMORE — Several of Maryland’s inmates who have been sentenced to death are late in the legal process of trying to stave off execution, and one could face a death warrant soon, although defense attorneys say significant issues still need resolution before another inmate is put to death.

After Monday’s execution of Wesley Baker, seven men await execution, including three who committed their crimes more than 20 years ago. Two inmates, Heath Burch and Vernon Evans, had execution dates set, although those orders were postponed to give them time to file extra appeals.

Those who have faced execution the longest have filed numerous appeals of their sentences and convictions. Almost all also argue that the state’s death statute is illegal based on a recent study of capital punishment in Maryland.

“People want to make sure that they have tried everything,” said Jennifer Lyman, a George Washington University law professor who represents death row inmate Anthony Grandison. “When you have the ultimate punishment, you better hope that someone is willing to try everything.”

Baker, 47, was put to death by injection Monday night at the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore. He was the fifth person to be executed in Maryland since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.

Three other men have been on Maryland’s unofficial death row longer than Baker, who was sentenced in 1992. Grandison, Evans and John Booth-El all were sentenced to death in 1984. All three had their death sentences overturned but later reinstated.

Earlier this year, a judge signed an execution warrant for Evans setting the week of April 18 for him to be put to death. He and Grandison were convicted of the 1983 shooting death of two people at a Pikesville motel.

That warrant was stayed and eventually expired after the Court of Appeals gave Evans more time to argue an appeal based on a University of Maryland study of race and geography in the state’s use of capital punishment.

But in November, the Court of Appeals denied that petition, as it had a month earlier with a similar Baker appeal. Evans’ attorneys plan to ask the court to reconsider that decision and have a motion to correct an illegal sentence pending in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

S. Ann Brobst, an assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore County, said prosecutors will wait to see the outcome of those appeals. If those are not decided in Evans’ favor, there would “be no legal impediment” to prosecutors seeking another death warrant, she said. Miss Brobst would not comment on whether or when they would ask for a new warrant.

“Evans is nearing the end of his appellate and collateral review,” she said.

Evans’ attorney A. Stephen Hut Jr., said the case could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said Evans still has several strong legal challenges before the courts.

“We think we have a number of very meritorious issues that warrant further court review,” Mr. Hut said.

Attorneys for Grandison argued before the Court of Appeals in November for a new trial, saying important evidence was not allowed into his original trial, Miss Lyman said. The court has not ruled on that request.

Lawrence Borchardt was sentenced to death in 2000 for killing an elderly Anne Arundel County couple. He was granted a new sentencing hearing earlier this year, and arguments on an appeal of that ruling are scheduled for February.

Booth-El’s death sentence has been vacated three times, but was reinstated in 2002 by a federal appeals court. His attorneys recently asked a Baltimore Circuit Court judge for a hearing on the 2003 University of Maryland death penalty study.

Two other inmates, Jody Miles and Jamaal Abeokuto, are still in the relatively early stages of their appeals process.

Burch, convicted of killing his Prince George’s County neighbors in 1996, had a death warrant signed last year that set his execution date for early December. That warrant was stayed pending his appeal based on discrepancies found by the University of Maryland study. Arguments on that case are scheduled for Prince George’s County Circuit Court in February, attorney Michael Lawlor said.

“It is in the public interest to find out why the discrepancies exist,” he said.

A relative of Burch’s victims, Cleo and Robert Davis, said yesterday that it is frustrating to see the appeals process grind at such a slow pace.

“To keep him living all this time, it is disgusting,” said Alton Brown, Mr. Davis’ brother. “I’m not a hard person, but if somebody takes somebody’s life, they ought to pay for it.”