Controversy surrounding a bill named for Baltimore City police officer Keona Holley, who was killed in the line of duty last December. Sean Kennedy with the Maryland Public Policy Institute joined us live to weigh in.
 

The bill was originally designed to eliminate parole for people convicted of killing or conspiring to kill a police officer. The bill was amended to provide more scholarship money to the children of fallen police officers.
 

"They're gutting the bill and basically political gesturing; the posturing is really disgusting to be honest because what the Holley family wants or what any family of a fallen officer wants is justice and they want their death to mean something. These people went out and put their lives on the line, in the case of officer Holley lost their lives, protecting us, and what they want to do is give them, for want of better word, blood money they want to pay the children for their mother’s death," said Kennedy. "There are plenty of scholarships for fallen officers, there are plenty of scholarships for the children of those who served both in the military and police or other first responders, so more money for kids going to college is not what this family wants, they want justice, and that's not what the bill in its current form is giving them."
 

According to Democratic State Senator Jill Carter, “Any murder is heinous, no matter who the victim. But I don’t think the right policy for Maryland is to create stand-alone offenses for a person based on their profession.”