The death penalty issue has been on Lt. Gov. Michael Steele?s plate since three years ago, when he raised his objections to Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Ehrlich asked him to study the issue.

On many political positions, the two men are connected at the hip as pro-business Republicans, and Steele frequently joins Ehrlich for announcements and news conferences, as he did this week to address BGE rates hikes and the state?s proposed takeover of 11 Baltimore City schools.