Dear Governor Hogan-

Here is yet another letter on behalf of Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform (www.ma4jr.org), urging you to expand the scope of your April 18 Executive Order to include elderly as well as medically-impaired individuals at greater risk for death from COVID-19 in our state’s prisons. As the reported coronavirus infections of prisoners, correctional officers and staff has ballooned from 3 cases to 207 cases since the beginning of this month, we thank you for considering this matter again.

-Phil Caroom
MAJR executive committee

Read MAJR’s letter to the Governor.

WHY MARYLAND COURTS’ RESPONSE TO COVID-19 IN PRISONS AND JAIL ISN’T ENOUGH

Two days ago, news media reported Maryland’s Chief Judge has taken action to “protect” our state’s adult prison population.  The headline, unfortunately is greatly overstated.

The threat to Marylanders in state prisons and jails continues to be an extreme one because these facilities inherently require keeping large populations close together: shared bathrooms, cafeterias, side-by-side multi-person cells.  Unless prison populations are reduced, “social distance” isn’t possible.  And, medical facilities behind the wall are tragically inadequate, even though corrections administrators and staff are doing their best. The results are ominous: Since April 1, reported COVID-19 infections in Maryland prisons have risen from 3 cases to 136 cases– including inmates, correctional officers and other staff.

To understand the problems, we consider the numbers and the processes involved. Here are the numbers:

• 6,072 (22%) – population awaiting trial in Md.’s local detention centers, eff. 1/31/20
• 2,303 (8%)- sentenced pop. in Md.’s local detention centers, eff. 1/31/20
• 19,151(70%)- sentenced pop. in Md. state prisons – latest statistics (FY 2018)
• 27,526 (100%)- combined population held in custody

Chief Judge Barbera’s order focuses primarily on the 30% awaiting trial or sentencing, but devotes only one brief reference to the more than 21,000 inmates or 70% now serving sentences.  That reference states:

“Judges are to continue to act expeditiously to issue a ruling or schedule a remote hearing upon motion of any party to modify a sentence in light of the considerations related to the COVID-19 emergency.”

In other words, there is no change to Md. Rules or court process for the 70% at risk in state prisons and local detention centers.  Maryland Courts are, systemically, not well-suited to dealing with populations who, as a group, are subject to collective public health risks because courts’ rules and processes require that individuals are examined one case at a time, with advance notice, and opportunity for opposing parties to respond.  Each individual case, at best,  normally requires either many days or weeks to process.

By contrast, the Governor, his Secretary in charge of prisons, and their local government counterparts are extremely well-suited to respond to collective health problems in state prisons and local jails:  They keep records of inmates sorted by their offense category–for example, nonviolent and violent. (The Courts do not keep such pre-sorted records.) They keep records of inmates sorted by age and health status. (The Courts do not keep such pre-sorted records.) They have a built-in Parole Commission and house-arrest system. (The Courts must depend on the state and local corrections officers for their management.). Finally, the Governor and County Executives have unique executive powers to set and revise rules that can affect with Maryland residents in groups — not on a case-by-case basis.

Under these circumstances, those concerned about their fellow Marylanders behind bars and at risk for infection and, possibly, death from COVID-19 should continue to ask the Governor to take prompt action to furlough, commute sentences, or otherwise release inmates held only for nonviolent offenses, as well as the elderly and medically-at-risk who would be able to shelter more safely outside of our state’s prisons.

A letter to Maryland legislators — asking them to join with Johns Hopkins medical faculty, most of Maryland’s delegation to Congress, the Archbishop and many others– in this request to the Governor is attached.  MAJR members are encouraged to contact their legislators with this request!

The Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association and Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform have addressed concerns about COVID-19 to the members of the Maryland Legislature:

To avoid a catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19 in our prisons, Maryland must act now to reduce our prison population. The health and well-being of all Marylanders depends on swift and organized measures. We ask that you contact Governor Hogan and urge him to take the following actions:

1. Direct the Parole Commission to expedite review of nonviolent, parole-eligible offenders.

2. Direct the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to improve safety conditions by providing every inmate with sufficient hygiene supplies and masks, provide correctional officers, contract workers, and other staff with appropriate PPE, and modify housing arrangements to provide for social distancing.

3. Appoint an independent working group to establish best practices and coordinate efforts between the Governor’s Office, the Parole Commission, and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

4. Direct the working group to issue weekly reports of Department of Corrections COVID-19 statistics and steps accomplished.

To see the full letter click here.

Stu Simms in his role as honorary co-chair of MAJR sent a letter to Governor Hogan, with a copy to Sec. Bob Green of MDPSC, about a week ago urging release of persons in prison who would be particularly vulnerable to covid-19.

Prosecutors and others in Baltimore, Prince Georges’s County, and elsewhere in our state have been reducing the incarceration of persons in jails because of the coronavirus, but to my knowledge we are not seeing any such move in our state prisons to date.

We are being told that “social distancing” and disinfection and other activities are underway, but within a very dangerous enclosed environment for staff and incarcerated persons; and Maryland has a large number of aged and ill persons. MAJR and others uirge that several hundred such persons could safely be released to family or other settings (VA, etc.) for greater public and private health results.

Here is a copy of Secretary Simms letter.

Dear Governor Hogan and Secretary Green:

Governor Larry Hogan and Ben Jealous agreed to participate in only a single, hour-long televised debate on September 24th. But you will have this and other opportunities to find out where they stand on issues which have been important to you and the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform. Write directly to the candidates, or call their offices with questions about justice reform.

Here are some questions that we would like to hear answered before the election:

1. Do you support alternatives to incarceration where appropriate?  Please explain.
2. In your opinion is there a difference between being “tough on crime” and being “smart on crime”? Please explain.
3. Maryland is one of the only states in the US that requires the governor’s approval of a parole commission’s recommendation to parole an inmate with a life sentence.  Do you favor this policy?  Please explain.
4. Without job training, without drug treatment, without housing, ex-offenders in Maryland too often end up back in prison.  What will you do as Governor to correct this pattern?
5. The Justice Reinvestment Act, signed into law on May 19, 2016, seeks to reduce Maryland’s prison population and use the savings to provide for more effective treatment to offenders, before, during, and after incarceration. How would you use these savings?

Do these question address your major concerns? Do you have other questions that need to be asked?

Shrinking Prisons, Growing Opportunities

Governor Larry Hogan and officials of the union for correctional officers (the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) have both said it: correctional officer vacancies in Maryland prisons are rising.  At the same time, the Hogan administration plans to close and consolidate prison facilities in Baltimore and Cumberland and to make substantial staffing changes in Jessup and Hagerstown. What’s going on?

Marylanders should put this 2017 news in the context of our landmark 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA)– called “one of the most intensively researched pieces of criminal justice legislation in the state’s history” by the Annapolis Capital and “the largest, most comprehensive criminal-justice reform in Maryland in a generation” by the Governor.

JRA promotes cuts to Maryland prison populations, beginning 10/1/17, by at least 1,000 lower-risk inmates. Then, from projected savings of over $80 million over 10 years, it makes improvements to offenders’ education, job-training, drug and mental health treatment – all measures proven more effective in reducing recidivism (repeated crimes) than longer prison terms.

With smaller prison populations anticipated, the Governor and the unions both must ponder future priorities. Would it be better to hire more in-prison educators and vocational trainers than to hire more guards?  Would it save money and staffing costs to transfer soon-to-be-released prisoners to lower security and local reentry programs? Can guards be retrained to assist in re-entry or take on other roles that reduce recidivism?  If no prison units are closed, the JRA may result in savings of about $9,000 per inmate per year, according to one analysis.  If prison units can be closed, however, savings may exceed $38,000 per inmate per year.

As they do, they have the opportunity to address notable gaps, leading to savings and a more effective correctional system:

• At the front end, Maryland’s pretrial operations still relies on money bail – a defacto discriminatory system that keeps mostly poor, African-American offenders in costly local jails, despite the fact that many states (New Jersey, Kentucky) and counties (St. Mary’s, Anne Arundel) have demonstrated savings and safety with pretrial release and supervision.
• For some nonviolent misdemeanors, police could be given the discretion to issue more citations— comparable to traffic tickets—instead of making arrests.
• For “technical” probation violations, Maryland judges who issue “no-bail” arrest warrants and make probationers spend months in jail — even though they have committed no new offense – should end this practice.
• For homeless persons and mentally-ill offenders, many counties need to improve programs that provide treatment instead of jail. A 2016 study found that over 40% of Maryland jail inmates suffer from mental disorders.
• Many elderly inmates given life sentences with the possibility of parole have been denied parole by every Maryland governor since Paris Glendening, even though the rate of new offenses for this group is lower than 1%. Due to medical costs, these inmates cost taxpayers two to three times more than any other inmates. It is time to award parole, as the judge intended, when it is safe and makes sense.
• Finally, more attention should be paid to building effective reentry programs in every Maryland county to assist “returning citizens” to reunite with their families, to find jobs, and to avoid any more prison time.

As the JRA is implemented, Maryland has an unprecedented opportunity to improve the criminal justice system to benefit Maryland. As we rethink what we are doing together, we have the chance to take a thoughtful look at what’s working to achieve both public safety and savings.

NOTE: A retired Md. Circuit Court judge and former chair of a statewide sentencing committee, Phil Caroom writes here as a private citizen and member of the bipartisan Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform (www.ma4jr.org).