MAJR general meeting minutes
Wed., 2/1/17 at 7 p.m.
The meeting began after an excellent potluck dinner at Stony Run Friends Meeting House, in Baltimore, Maryland with MAJR committee members and more than fifty others in attendance. Jerry McLaurin facilitated, initially inviting new attendees and group representatives to introduce themselves.
Representatives of MAJR workgroups and committees offered the following brief updates and some group discussion followed on each topic:
a) Front Door – Rev. Marvin Silver reviewed our community meetings held in at least ten jurisdictions around Maryland with himself, Phil Caroom, Public Defender representatives, and others presenting. At each meeting we invited those present to sign our petition in support of Pretrial/Bail and Citations reform, gathering over 600 signatures so far.
Phil Caroom, having provided a handout summarizing our previously approved MAJR pretrial/bail initiative, gave a brief review that our pretrial/bail bill would seek to reduce the number of individuals arrested (by providing alternatives of citations and violation of probation summons), to reduce the number required to pay money bail (by providing risk screening and improved pretrial release supervision in pilot programs), and to reduce the number held in detention (by providing earlier review of prosecutors for dismissal of insufficient charges or diversion to pretrial drug, mental health, veterans treatment, or mediation, as available).
Phil Caroom also commented that, earlier this evening, MAJR executive committee members met with representatives of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle and Out for Justice who have expressed concerns about the process for selecting a risk assessment tool and who desire to take a greater role in the legislative planning process; he and other MAJR executive committee members will look for a time to continue those discussions.
b) Behind the Walls– For this workgroup, Lea Green reported that MAJR again is prepared to support the legislative initiative to remove the Governor from the parole process for those with life sentences. Governors remain involved in this way only in two other states and, in Maryland, political concerns have prevented the approval of any such paroles for 20 years.
Suzanne O’Hatnick, for Interfaith Action on Human Rights, reported that drafting is in progress for another solitary confinement-related bill that MAJR agreed, in concept, to support at our last general meeting. Action is needed for various reasons including a) Maryland’s use of solitary at higher rates than most sister states, such that b) 68% of all prison inmates spend some time in solitary with an average stay of more than 30 days. Last year, more than 250 inmates completed their sentences being returned to the community directly from solitary confinement – thus, substantially harming their opportunity for successful readjustment.)
c) Back Door – Diamonte Brown reviewed MAJR’s previous decision to support Job Opportunity Task Force (JOTF) expungement initiatives including: a) immediate expungement for dismissed (not guilty, nol prossed, or ‘stetted’) charges, and b) repeal of the “unit rule” that prevents expungement of more serious charges if there is even a minor conviction within the same group of charges.
Jerry McLaurin then led us through a discussion of new MAJR partner initiatives, ultimately requesting the group’s approval for MAJR support of these:
d) Behind the Walls – Steve Steurer and John Linton, both retired Maryland corrections educators, described recent formation of a Maryland Corrections Education Enhancement Association (MCEEA)—a group that has signed up to become a MAJR partner organization. MCEEA currently is pursuing 3 initiatives: 1) revision of Maryland statutes as to education credits to improve incentives for inmates to complete GEDs, college degrees, or meaningful vocational certificates, 2) earlier and more effective screening for inmate educational and vocational needs that can help prison administrators better plan and provide for these, and 3) a bill to provide correctional educators’ direct participation in review of salaries to make these competitive with public school teachers’. Only the third bill is expected to be ready for this session. Support for this bill was approved.
e) Back Door – Nicole Hanson, for Out for Justice, explained that group’s soon-to-be-filed bill to provide equal access for food stamps, public housing and other public assistance for those with drug convictions. Currently, access is permitted for those with other convictions but, even those with drug convictions and their family members of those with drug convictions are penalized and made to comply with strict supervision. MAJR meeting attenders approved the request to support this bill.
f) Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS)– Dayvon Love, a representative of LBS, spoke about the need for leadership of criminal justice reform by those from the communities most impacted – particularly, the African-American community. LBS, he explained, is a Baltimore-area group that seeks to provide such leadership and he encouraged MAJR and all attending to defer to LBS, rather than pursuing most previously discussed initiatives. Particularly, LBS is concerned that no risk assessment or pretrial resource center should be planned without their participation. One attendee asked whether LBS discouraged others from contacting their own legislators about any bills; Dayvon said that LBS does not want such contacts, unless citizens first ask LBS what message to convey.
g) Other / future initiatives – Phil Caroom noted that MAJR had hope for legislative or policy initiatives to emerge from the recently filed Governor’s Collateral Consequences Workgroup report. However, that report only recommended further study. MAJR plans to pursue these concerns, as well as ongoing implementation of the Justice Reinvestment Act via the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Board after the 2017 General Assembly session.
As a final agenda item, we briefly reviewed plans to support the aforementioned bills. Pat encouraged all to sign the MAJR pretrial petition online and to take paper copies for signing by other groups.
Bob Rhudy and Phil Caroom described the soon-expected process of bill filing for pretrial / bail bills, suggesting that one or more lobby days may be called for in the second half of February and early March. We will send more information about these dates in MAJR newsletters. Also, MAJR may again seek to hold a Legislators Breakfast Reception, if bill sponsors suggest this could help bill passage. Finally, Bob noted that our citations bill will have its first hearing on 2/7/17 at 1 p.m. and encouraged MAJR members who could help testify to contact him.
Jerry McLaurin thanked everyone for attending this Meeting, reminding all to look for our newsletters / emails soon about lobby days. MAJR’s executive committee also will plan for our next meeting date(s) and include these in newsletter/ email. We encouraged those attending to help us get the word out to other individuals and other groups.
We concluded our meeting shortly after 8:30 p.m. with some MAJR executive committee members remaining to talk and answer other questions.
