Policy Reform and Legislative Advocacy
● Moderator: Bob Rhudy, Esq.
● Speakers:
o Nicole Hansen-Mundell, Out for Justice
o Lila Meadows, Esq., University of Maryland Carey School of Law
o Suzanne O’Hatnick, Interfaith Action for Human Rights
o Alice Wilkerson, Advance Maryland, Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition
o Elizabeth Hilliard, Maryland Office of the Public Defender
o Natasha Khafani, Maryland Office of the Public Defender
o Jenny Zito, Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform
Representatives of advocacy and other organizations highlighted their agency’s primary concerns and highlighted promising bills they believe would lead to helpful policy reform in those areas.
University of Maryland Carey School of Law
● Compassionate release
● Geriatric release
● Geriatric Release for Medical Parole
Ms. Meadows first focused on the need for compassionate release for sick and aging persons. The compassionate release process is broken in Maryland. Normally a person waits 2 to 3 days to go home on this type of release and then they die. People should not have to wait until they are ready to die to be released on compassionate release. Aging and sick people are not a risk to anyone in the community. They should have the opportunity to say goodbye to their families and receive care through community health facilities.
● Geriatric Release for People Over 50, SB562/HB600, sponsored by Senator Shelly
Hettleman
A second priority is geriatric release for seniors over the age of 50. Maryland has an aging prison population. Although an existing bill intended to allow geriatric release, the language referenced the wrong statistics and codes, with the result that fewer than seven people will be eligible. The bill is supported by the Maryland Parole Commission but did not get a vote last session.
Interfaith Action for Human Rights (IAHR)
● Limiting solitary confinement
The primary focus for IAHR is reducing the use of solitary confinement in Maryland. The United Nations has declared that over 15 days in solitary confinement should be considered torture. In Maryland, the average placement in these conditions is 42.5, and over one-fourth of persons in prison experience this confinement. Previous legislation
sponsored by the group requires annual reporting on the use of solitary confinement, which in Maryland is called restrictive housing.
Redrafted legislation to limit the time people can be placed in restrictive housing is under review and no longer covers local jails. IAHR hopes to introduce new legislation in the fall.
Out for Justice
● Pre-Release Centers for Women
● Lowering waiting periods for expungement
● Reducing the cost of prisoners’ phone calls
● Safety for transgender prisoners
The policy focus areas for Out for Justice include education, direct services work, and mutual aid. Priority bills for the next session are not set in stone, as Out for Justice is still working with the community.
● Establish a Women’s Pre-Release Center
Ms. Hansen-Mandell expressed disappointment that Maryland had not honored its word and established a Women’s Pre-Release Center. In 2022, the State Budget was amended to provide funds for a women’s pre-release center, but the program still has not been implemented.
● Criminal Procedure – Expungement of Records (REDEEM Act of 2023), sponsored
by Senator Waldstreicher
Out for Justice would like to further lower the amount of time it takes to get a record for certain offenses expunged. With the recent passage of the REDEEM Act, the waiting period is 10 years for expungement eligibility, down from 15 years.
● Reducing the Cost of Prisoners’ Phone Calls
The organization is also interested in lowering or eliminating the costs for phone calls made by prisoners. There is no bill established to accomplish this, but Out for Justice recommends that a workgroup be established to study the issue and make recommendations.
● Avoid Endangering People Who are Transgender
Ms. Hansen-Mundell stated that DPSCS endangers people who are transgender by placing them in dangerous situations. During the 2023 Legislative Session, Maryland introduced the Respect Agency and Dignity Act, which requires the agency to change these practices.
Out for Justice believes the effort of reform should be led by directly impacted persons. The bill did not move forward in committee.
Maryland Office of the Public Defender
● Establishing an Ombudsman’s Office
● Releasing non-violent prisoners
● Establishing an Ombudsman’s Office
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender (OPD) hopes to redefine and reshape public safety and transparency. A major priority is passage of the Ombudsman Act.
● Releasing Prisoners who are not Dangerous: Second Look Act (2023), SB0771/HB1263, sponsored by Senator Charles E. Sydnor III and Delegate Gabriel Acevero
OPD also strongly supports the Second Look Act, which would release non-dangerous and
rehabilitated persons. It would also allow petitions from prisoners to have their sentences
potentially reconsidered by the original sentencing court. People charged with non-violent
offenses need to be given a chance to make a positive impact in their communities. The Second Look Act did not pass last year.
Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform (MAJR)
● Establishing an Ombudsman’s Office
● Prohibit charging juveniles as adults without court approval
● Preventing police from lying to juveniles and other reforms
● Ending the Felony-Murder Rule show that these falsehoods result in false confessions
three times as often as for adults.
● Change the “Felony-Murder” Rule (HB 1180/SB 0850)
Currently, the “felony-murder” rule permits prosecutors to obtain or threaten life sentences for accomplices who didn’t plan or expect a murder to occur, though they were present when the crime was committed by MAJR’s policy concerns encompass each phase of involvement with the criminal justice system – the front door, behind the walls, and the back door (return to the community). Priority bills for the coming 2024 session–which were not passed in 2023– include the following:
● Correctional Ombudsman Act (HB 0064/SB 0087), sponsored in 2023 by Senators
Shelley Hettleman and Chris West and by Delegate Debra Davis
MAJR’s key priority is the Ombudsman Act, which has been discussed throughout this session. It would establish an independent office with the power to conduct investigations without notice.
● The Youth Equity and Safety (YES) Act ( HB 73/SB 96-2023), sponsored in 2023 by
Senator Jill Carter, Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield, and others
The Youth Equity and Safety (YES) Act would prohibit charging juveniles as adults without
prior court approval. It would also ensure that better rehabilitative services are made available in juvenile placements.
● Custodial Interrogation of Minors – Admissibility of Statements (HB 0076-2023),
sponsored in 2023 by Delegate Gabriel Acevero
The Act calls for a change to police rules that would prevent police from lying to juveniles
during interrogations. To obtain fairer and shorter sentences for people who did not actually commit crimes but were present when others did so, Maryland should change this rule.
