Interesting capital developments in the mid-Atlantic states

Today's Washington Post includes interesting death penalty news from two mid-Atlantic states:

• From Maryland, this article notes that "Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele broke his long silence yesterday on the way the state is handling death penalty cases, saying he believes there is reason for concern about racial, economic and geographic disparities in the way people are sentenced." 

• From Virginia, this article spotlights that a clemency petition has presented Virginia's new governor, Tim Kaine, with a tough decision: "Attorneys for Dexter Lee Vinson, a Suffolk man who has been on death row since 1999 for the abduction and killing of his ex-girlfriend, filed a formal clemency petition to Kaine.... Vinson's petition places Kaine for the first time at the intersection of his personal faith and his official duty."

In addition to the geographic proximity, these two stories highlight the connections and possible tensions between religious convictions and the death penalty.  I find the intersection of these issues fascinating, as evidenced by some of my prior posts listed below:

• Debating religion and the death penalty
• Virginia governor campaign spotlights death penalty and religion
• Will SCOTUS consider Bible-influenced capital sentencing?
• New resource examining religion and the death penalty
• Sentencing and Religion
• Sister Prejean powerful perspective