Brochin Gives Death Penalty Referendum '50-50 Chance'

Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin.

"I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio.

The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland.

"If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?"

Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the death penalty by challenging the repeal at then ballot box in 2014.

The three-term Democrat from Towson joins Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott in the effort to collect the signatures of 18,400 Maryland voters by May 31 and a total of 55,736 overall.

Parrott will use his MDPetitions.com to assist in collecting the signatures. The site was key to placing same-sex marriage and the Maryland DREAM Act on the 2012 ballot. Ultimately, voters approved those issues.

"We have some work to do," Brochin said. "We need to explain to people why it's a good idea to download your information on MDPolitics.com and sign [the petition]."

Brochin said most people in Maryland support having the death penalty on the books and that they should have an opportunity to vote on the issue.

"This isn't a Democratic or Republican issue," Brochin said. "It's a public policy issue."

Read More:

• Death Penalty Proponents Push for 2014 Referendum
• Poll: Americans Support Death Penalty For Terrorists
• VIDEO: Should Maryland Abolish the Death Penalty?