Maryland Governor Commutes Sentences

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. commuted the sentences of three inmates Friday, including that of a woman who was serving life in prison for a murder she committed when she was 15.

Mary Washington Brown, 46, was convicted of stabbing Charlotte Ida Lessem in 1974 as Brown and a co-defendant robbed her at a Baltimore bus station.

The Republican governor’s office said Brown had been an exemplary inmate who had earned her high school equivalency and an associate’s degree in prison. She needs 15 more credits for a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Morgan State University. She must complete 12 months of work release.

Ehrlich also commuted the sentence of a man who has served 36 years of a life sentence for murder, although several co-defendants received lesser sentences. It was later proved the man didn’t actually strike the victim.

The other commutation was for a man who received a 25-year sentence for breaking into a home because it was his third conviction for a violent crime. Two years later, burglary was changed to a nonviolent offense in the state.