Saturday, February 14, 2009

Diminution Credit Legislation Introduced

I am pleased to announce that Maryland House Bill 581 and Senate Bill 354 have been introduced by Del. Ben Cramer and Sen. Nancy King, respectively, into the General Assembly. The bills, if enacted, would cap the amount of diminution credits that violent criminals can receive while in prison so that they receive no more than 15% of the time off their sentences. The bills have been assigned to the Judiciary and Judicial Proceedings of the House and Senate, respectively.

Will this legislation become law? Sen. King, who gave an interview to WAMU this week, isn't sure. She said she spoke with Sen. Brian Frosh, who chairs the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee but is thus far noncommital on support for the bill and told her he will take a "fair look" at it.

Meanwhile, the Shawn Henderson trial remains without a verdict. Jurors are to resume their deliberations on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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