Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley commuted two life sentences on Thursday, the first time the governor has reduced the sentences of inmates.
O’Malley signed two executive orders, one commuting Mark Farley Grant’s to a term of life with all but 45 years suspended and another commuting Tamara Settles to a term of life with all but 40 years suspended.
Grant was sentenced to life in prison in 1984, when he was 14 years old, following a felony murder conviction in Baltimore. Settles has served 27 years in prison since a 1984 felony murder conviction after her boyfriend killed a man in Hyattsville.
Both Grant and Settles are eligible for parole immediately, but the parole commission will determine whether to release them in advance of mandatory release dates coming up in a few months, according to the governor’s legal staff.
The commission will also set a timeline to properly transition the inmates from life in prison to life on the outside.
The governor rejected 57 other requests for commuted sentences, and two are pending his decision, officials said.
