Story highlights O'Malley abolished the death penalty in 2013 in Maryland while he served as governor

Liberal activists, particularly those associated with the "Black Lives Matter" movement, are hungry for action on criminal justice reform

Miami (CNN) Martin O'Malley on Friday unveiled his proposals for overhauling the nation's criminal justice system, vowing to reform police departments, abolish the death penalty and address overcrowding in prisons.

"America's criminal justice system is badly in need of reform. For too long, our justice system has reinforced our country's cruel history of racism and economic inequality," O'Malley, the former Maryland governor, wrote in a detailed policy paper.

If elected, O'Malley also vowed to restore felons' voting rights and downgrade marijuana's Drug Enforcement Agency schedule, which currently classifies the drug among such substances as heroin and ecstasy.

"All those who served time and re-entered society should be allowed to vote," according to the white paper. "O'Malley will call for and strongly support legislation restoring voting rights to individuals with felony record."

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