Opinion ID: 4415857
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conaway

Text: Conaway was charged in the Circuit Court for Dorchester County in 2008 with firstdegree murder and related charges. She entered a negotiated guilty plea to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with all but 20 years suspended. The trial judge ordered also that Conaway serve five years of supervised probation upon her release from incarceration. 2 The Court of Special Appeals, in Johnson’s direct appeal in 1982, reversed the third-degree sexual offense conviction. -2- In 2013, Conaway filed a motion to modify her sentence. The circuit court modified the sentence to 30 years in prison, with all but 15 years suspended. The probation requirement remained the same. In 2015, Conaway (while still incarcerated) filed a request for an evaluation, pursuant to Md. Code, Health-Gen. § 8-505.3 The court granted the request. As a result, the circuit court suspended the balance of Conaway’s executed sentence upon her 3 That section reads, in pertinent part: In general (a)(1)(i) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, before or during a criminal trial, before or after sentencing, or before or during a term of probation, the court may order the Department to evaluate a defendant to determine whether, by reason of drug or alcohol abuse, the defendant is in need of and may benefit from treatment if: 1. It appears to the court that the defendant has an alcohol or drug abuse problem; or 2. The defendant alleges an alcohol or drug dependency.