Annapolis, Maryland–On February 8, members of the Maryland General Assembly, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association, community advocates, and crime victims joined Delegate Susan C. Lee at a press conference, urging the General Assembly to pass her bill to fight the huge upswing in violent home invasions throughout every region in Maryland.

The elderly, single mothers, children, immigrants, and some of the state’s most vulnerable individuals have been the target of home invasions involving brutal murders, beatings, sexual assaults, and robberies.

In Montgomery County alone, there were 24 home invasions in 2011. With a bad economy, home invasions have increased and escalated. The bill will enable law enforcement and prosecutors to better deter and prosecute this vicious crime and obtain justice for the victims.