Maryland abolishes death penalty.

[Jester]

Indeed, and they don't profit from American support. So pretty good as I said.

Except that wasn't quite what you said.

I find Cuba a pretty good example. Despite a boycott from most part of the world, they are doing a lot better than the surrounding island states.

It's one thing to argue that Cuba is (relatively) poor because US policy makes them so. It's another to argue that they're doing (relatively) well. But you can't have it both ways. Cuba is not "doing a lot better" than the surrounding islands. Except for the godforsaken case of Haiti, it's not. We can debate why that is true, but not whether it is.

-Jester