State lawmakers in Maryland have given final approval to a ban on the death penalty. The measure would replace death sentences with life terms without the chance of parole. Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley is expected to sign it into law next month, making Maryland the 18th state to ban executions. In a statement, Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP, which helped lead a grassroots effort for the bill’s passage, said: “Today we accomplished a milestone that [we have] worked toward for more than a century. … Tomorrow we will wake up in a state where we will never again have to worry if someone is put to death because of their color, class, or in spite of their innocence.”