Grandison v. State, 174 A.3d 388

Background

In 1983 Grandison hired Vernon Evans to kill witnesses; Evans murdered one intended victim and one innocent person. Federal convictions (conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death; witness tampering) yielded life + 10 years; state convictions in 1984 produced two death sentences, life for conspiracy, and a handgun sentence.
Post-conviction relief in 1992 vacated death sentences under Mills; a resentencing jury again imposed death.
In 2013 Maryland repealed the death penalty; Grandison moved to correct illegal sentence, and the circuit court (on State concession) reduced a 20-year handgun term to 15 years but denied other claims.
In 2015 Governor O’Malley commuted Grandison’s two death sentences to life without parole; Grandison filed a second motion to correct illegal sentence challenging the commutation.
The Court of Special Appeals consolidated the appeals and affirmed the circuit court: it rejected claims concerning merger, a Bartkus "sham prosecution" theory, jury hearkening/polling challenges, procedural complaints about resentencing, and attacks on the Governor’s authority and ex post facto grounds for the commutation.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Grandison)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Whether handgun conviction merges with murder under required-evidence test	Handgun use is same conduct and should merge	Statute authorizes separate cumulative punishment; separate sentence permitted	No merger; separate sentence permissible under legislative intent and Missouri v. Hunter
Whether Maryland prosecution was a sham (Bartkus exception) and cognizable in Rule 4-345(a) motion	State prosecution was effectively a cover for federal prosecution, so state sentences illegal	Claim requires extensive facts/evidence and is not a proper Rule 4-345(a) vehicle; law of the case bars it	Not cognizable in Rule 4-345(a); barred by law of the case even if cognizable
Whether jury was improperly hearkened/polled making sentence illegal	Jury not properly hearkened/polled, rendering verdict/sentence invalid	Procedural polling/hearkening claims are for direct appeal, not Rule 4-345(a); record shows proper procedure	Claim not cognizable under Rule 4-345(a); fails on the merits in any event per Colvin v. State
Whether resentencing procedures (jury announcements, polling) violated double jeopardy or were invalid	Resentencing jury did not announce findings or was not properly polled/hearkened	Resentencing after vacatur under Mills is permitted; procedural complaints are not cognizable in Rule 4-345(a) and record complied with rules	Resentencing lawful; no double jeopardy violation; procedural claims not cognizable
Whether Governor could commute death sentences sua sponte without applicant and lawfulness under ex post facto	O’Malley lacked authority to commute absent an application; commutation to LWOP violated Maryland Ex Post Facto Clause	Art. II §20 grants plenary pardon/commutation power; notice provision is procedural, not a condition precedent; commutation reduced punishment so no ex post facto violation; statutes then and now authorize commute to LWOP	Governor has plenary power; notice requirement not condition precedent; commutation lawful and not an ex post facto violation

Key Cases Cited

Woods v. State, 315 Md. 591 (rejection of equivalence between death and life without parole)
Colvin v. State, 450 Md. 718 (scope of cognizable claims under Rule 4-345(a))
Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359 (legislative authorization permits cumulative punishment)
Bartkus v. Illinois, 359 U.S. 121 (dual sovereignty and dictum on sham prosecutions)
Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256 (plenary executive pardon/commutation power and its constitutional source)
Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367 (capital sentencing jury instruction defects requiring vacatur)
Jones v. State, 247 Md. 530 (governor’s power to commute recognized)
Doe v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety & Corrections Servs., 430 Md. 535 (tests and analysis for Ex Post Facto challenges)