Panel backs higher maximum penalties for grossly negligent vehicular homicide

Senator Chris West told the Judicial Proceedings Committee SB 66, dubbed "Jamari's Law," would raise the maximum penalty for causing death by grossly negligent operation of a vehicle or vessel to 20 years for a first offense and 30 years for a subsequent offense.

The sponsor framed the bill around a 2022 case in St. Mary's County in which 18-year-old Jamari Duckett was killed by a drunk driver driving 76' to 91 mph in a 40 mph zone. "Jamari was only 18 years old," the senator said. John Duckett, Jamari's father, and State's Attorney Jamie Sterling described the family's loss and argued that the current "nonviolent" classification and 10-year maximum leave families with little sense of proportional punishment.

Sterling said judges and prosecutors lack sentencing tools to balance punishment and rehabilitation; she told the committee that offenders who receive 10-year maximums often serve only a fraction of the time after diminution credits. Multiple senators asked about collateral effects: how increased maximums interact with early-release and "second-look" laws and whether higher maximums would meaningfully change time served given existing credits and restoration procedures.

Sponsors said the bill sets maximums but not mandatory minimums and that existing correctional and review mechanisms would continue to apply. The committee did not vote; sponsors urged a favorable report to increase sentencing discretion.