University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class Volume 4 | Issue 1 Article 2 Justice by Geography and Race: The Administration of the Death Penalty in Maryland, 1978-1999 Raymond Paternoster Robert Brame Sarah Bacon Andrew Ditchfield Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Raymond Paternoster, Robert Brame, Sarah Bacon, & Andrew Ditchfield, Justice by Geography and Race: The Administration of the Death Penalty in Maryland, 1978-1999, 4 U. Md. L.J. Race Relig. Gender & Class 1 (2004). Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol4/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. JUSTICE BY GEOGRAPHY AND RACE: THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN MARYLAND, 1978-1999 RAYMOND PATERNOSTER, ROBERT BRAME, SARAH BACON AND ANDREW DITCHFIELD* I. INTRODUCTION On June 1 7 th, 2004, Steven Oken was executed by the State of Maryland.' His was the first execution in six years and only the third person executed in the state since the state's new death penalty law took effect in July of 1978.2 His execution lifted a moratorium that was placed on the death penalty by Maryland's former Governor, Parris N. Glendenning who, while supporting the death penalty, was concerned about how it was being administered.3 Apprehension regarding the death penalty in Maryland is not new.