“The death penalty was broken from birth,” declared Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP.

He spoke at the press conference where Governor O’Malley announced that he would sponsor the bill repealing capital punishment.

The Governor’s action is a big deal.  He brings the power and resources of his office to our effort.  So has Ben Jealous.

Nonetheless, I still felt uncomfortable when several people congratulated me.

“That’s appropriate for the bill signing,” I responded.

When I spoke, I congratulated “our two leaders, Governor O’Malley and Ben Jealous, for their moral courage and political leadership.”

“Weather permitting, this event was supposed to be held outside, next to the Thurgood Marshall statue,” I said.

“That statue honors Marshall for bringing the lawsuit that integrated the University of Maryland Law School.  As a young lawyer, Marshall also handled death penalty cases.

“Eighty years ago, he knew that the death penalty was broken at birth.  Over the next eighty days, we will remove this blight from our laws.”