The Maryland American Civil Liberties Union and several Baltimore lawmakers plan to rally Thursday to urge new laws about granting parole to inmates serving life sentences.
The civil rights group and others are pushing to remove the governor from parole decisions involving life sentences, saying that most executives choose to leave inmates in jail rather than take a political risk.
In Maryland, convicted criminals can recieve life sentence with or without the possibility of parole. A study published by the group in January concluded that most convicts sentenced to life with the possiblity of parole were unlikely to ever be released, even though the state's parole commission had recommended it.
The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis. Democratic Sens. Nathaniel McFadden, Lisa Gladden and Anthony Muse and Dels. Jill Carter and Curt Anderson are expected to attend.