Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has vetoed a bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly that would end life sentences without parole for juveniles tried, convicted and sentenced as adults. It would also enable people who were convicted as adults for crimes committed as a minor to petition a court to reduce their sentence after being incarcerated for two decades.

Legislators, including Senate President Bill Ferguson, said they plan to overturn Hogan’s veto.

Juvenile justice reform advocates pushed back on Hogan’s decision immediately, saying the bill could help correct significant racial disparities in the state’s criminal justice system, where a vast majority of people serving life without parole are Black.

Hogan laid out his reasoning for the veto in a letter to Ferguson — mainly, that the individuals it would apply to have been convicted of very serious crimes, including first degree murder, rape, manslaughter, and some firearms charges.

While Hogan called himself a “firm believer in second chances,” especially where juveniles are concerned, “these are serious crimes that require the most serious of consequences, which is why a judge or jury sentences the individual to a lengthy determinate sentence, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without parole” he wrote. He also said he was concerned that the move would retraumatize victims and their families.

According to a racial and equity impact analysis published this year by the General Assembly’s Department of Legislative Services, 81% of youths charged as adults from July to December 2019 were Black or African American — a percentage that’s significantly higher than that of Maryland’s Black or African American youth population between 10-17 (31%).

A group of prosecutors from counties across the state wrote letters in support of Hogan’s veto. But advocates for the measure pointed out that prominent Black prosecutors, including Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy, did not join in the chorus calling for the bill’s veto.

https://twitter.com/preston_shipp/status/1380316293522468864

Hogan also criticized the bill for allowing petitioners for reduced sentences to take their requests directly to courts, going around the state’s Parole Commission and executive commutation processes. Criminal justice reform advocates like the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter have criticized the existing process for being unwieldy, long, and potentially politicized, since it ends with the state’s governor making the final decision on an incarcerated person’s petition for parole.

Hogan also vetoed a bill that would broaden the application of the state’s prevailing wage law, which regulates pay, hours, and working conditions, to more public works projects. Under the bill, the law would apply to projects that receive 25% of their funds from the state, instead of the previous 50% threshold (some exceptions already exist for school construction).

Hogan said the measure would be a deterrent to businesses and would reverse gains in improving Maryland’s “abysmal business climate reputation.”

“With labor costs at nearly one third of all construction costs, public works projects will become more expensive and jobs may be lost due to fewer projects being funded,” Hogan wrote in his veto message to leadership in the legislature.

Lawmakers expect to overturn Hogan’s veto.

Hogan also allowed eleven pieces of legislation to take effect without his signature. They include this year’s capital budget and seven bills aimed at reforming the state’s beleaguered unemployment insurance system. Two more which attempt to expand voter access to ballot drop boxes and early voting centers will also become law without Hogan’s signature.