Maryland State Constitution

As we celebrate the 232nd anniversary of our nation's independence at Philadelphia tomorrow, today should be when we take note of what occured in Annapolis just prior to our country's declaration.

Gov. Martin O'Malley: Getty Images PhotoGov. Martin O'Malley (D) said in a statement today that he has "directed the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services to begin the rule-making process governing the administration of capital punishment in the state of Maryland."

Coming one-month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration of capital punishment by the use of lethal injection did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, O'Malley said that case "resolves challenges to the constitutionality of using lethal injection as a method of capital punishment, the method specified by Maryland law."

In March, during the legislative session, House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell, called on O'Malley to issue new death penalty regulations, claiming his refusal to do so was in violation of state law.