Peter Keith

Almost 14 years ago, Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP attorney Peter Keith accepted a difficult representation -- to try to save a man's life through legal advocacy. Mr. Keith's involvement in the case of State of Maryland v. Kenneth Lloyd Collins began after Mr. Collins was convicted of first degree murder, sentenced to death, and then exhausted all of his state court appeals. Leading a small team of attorneys, Mr. Keith challenged the adequacy of prior counsel, the sufficiency of evidence, and other issues, in a long series of post-conviction proceedings in the federal and state courts. The chances of success were quite unfavorable. Nevertheless, on February 5, 2004, after full briefing and a hearing, Judge Daniel Long of the Circuit Court for Somerset County found that Mr. Collins' original trial attorney did not provide effective assistance of counsel as required by the United States Constitution. Thus, Judge Long vacated the original death sentence and imposed a new sentence of life imprisonment plus 40 years. As a result, Mr. Collins' life has been spared.