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Summary
- Abstract:
- The Maryland Citizens Against State Executions (Maryland or MD CASE) Records contain documents from over 25 groups and 1,300 individuals that united to help successfully end the death penalty in Maryland in 2013 through education, grassroots action, and public demonstration. The collection consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, legislation, lobbying materials, subject files, special event and conference materials, case files and clippings.
- Extent:
- 4.9 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Maryland Citizens Against State Executions Records, 1962-2013. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Maryland CASE Records).
Background
- Scope and Content:
The collection documents Maryland Citizens Against State Executions' ongoing efforts to repeal capital punishment in the state. It consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, legislation, lobbying materials, subject files, special event and conference materials, case files and clippings. Much of the collection is dedicated to files on inmates, the events held to demand their release and subsequent memorial/remembrance events held after executions.
When available, the archivist retained the original file names created by Maryland CASE.
- Biographical / Historical:
Maryland Citizens Against State Executions (Maryland or MD CASE) is a coalition of over 25 groups and 1,300 individuals that united to help successfully end the death penalty in Maryland in 2013 through education, grassroots action, and public demonstration. Founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in 2000 as the Maryland Coalition Against State Executions, the group changed its name in 2003.
The decade leading to the abolishment of the death penalty in Maryland in 2013 witnessed significant activity in the debate over capital punishment in the state. In 2002 Maryland Governor Parris Glendening declared a moratorium on executions, which his successor Robert Ehrlich ended in 2004. The last state sanctioned execution occurred in 2005. In 2008, the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment was created to study all aspects of capital punishment in the state and make recommendations regarding future use. Following completion of its study, the Commission recommended the death penalty be abolished in the state. After earlier attempts to enact similar legislation failed, both houses of the Maryland Legislature voted in favor of a bill to repeal the death penalty for future offenders in March 2013 which Governor Martin O'Malley then signed into law. As of May 2014, four men remain on Death Row in Maryland, all convicted and sentenced before 2013.
Maryland CASE was highly engaged in the debate during the years between 2003 and 2013, as evidenced by the plethora of event fliers, brochures and postcards in the collection. Today Maryland CASE remains active and is overseen by an involved board of death penalty activists. One of the alternatives to capital punishment Maryland CASE endorses is life without parole, which the organization asserts is acceptable to a majority of Maryland citizens.
- Acquisition information:
- Jane Henderson, executive director, of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions donated all of the materials in this collection to the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives in 2013.
- Processing information:
Processed in 2014 by Marci Zebrowski.
- Arrangement:
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1 - Political Outreach and Lobbying, 1962-2013, Undated
- Series 2 - General/Public Outreach, 1994-2013, Undated
- Series 3 - Subject Files, 1998-2013, Undated
All series are arranged chronologically.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
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Access to this record group is unrestricted.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
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The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Maryland Citizens Against State Executions Records, 1962-2013. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Maryland CASE Records).