A case test­ing new death penal­ty statutes in Maryland has recent­ly con­clud­ed. The new statutes lim­it­ed when the death penal­ty could be sought to cas­es of first degree mur­der in which there is DNA or oth­er bio­log­i­cal evi­dence link­ing the defen­dant to a mur­der, a video-taped con­fes­sion by the defen­dant, or a video link­ing the defen­dant to the mur­der. Lee Edward Stephens, who was con­vict­ed of the fatal stab­bing of Cpl. David McGuinn, was spared the death penal­ty, and sen­tenced to life with­out the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole. McGuinn’s blood was found on Stephens’ clothes, meet­ing the bio­log­i­cal evi­dence cri­te­ria nec­es­sary to seek the death penal­ty. The jurors, who delib­er­at­ed for six days, cit­ed Stephens’ impov­er­ished upbring­ing, unad­dressed learn­ing dis­abil­i­ty and low IQ, and sex­u­al abuse he endured as a child as rea­sons for spar­ing his life. Assistant State’s Attorney Sandra Howell said that the sen­tence was ​“a major step for­ward toward jus­tice for Cpl. David McGuinn.” Janice McGuinn, the victim’s moth­er, is also sat­is­fied with the ver­dict, say­ing that her son was ​“a firm believ­er in the jus­tice sys­tem and would be sat­is­fied with the outcome.”

(H. Rawlyk, ​“Inmate spared from death penal­ty,” The Annapolis Capital, February 29, 2012). See Life Without Parole.

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