Governor Wes Moore signs landmark prison ombudsman bill into law

Today, Governor Wes Moore signed a bill to create Maryland’s first independent Correctional Ombudsman Office to investigate prison services and programs and review complaints by incarcerated men and women who have long reported poor health care, excessive solitary confinement, as well as dilapidated and unsanitary prison conditions. The new Ombudsman office also can pursue problems raised by individuals who visit, volunteer and work in correctional institutions.

Ombudsman powers will include free access to prison records, subpoenas, and unannounced visits to the state’s prisons, which currently house over 15,000 incarcerated people. The new law also enhances Maryland’s Juvenile Justice Monitoring unit, connecting it with the new Correctional Ombudsman Agency.

The bill, Sponsored by Senator Shelly Hettleman and Delegate Debra Davis, was passed after years of lobbying from the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform and other prison reform advocates. Massive support for the bill included nearly unanimous witness testimony urging the need for the legislation, community education events, and letters from more than 90 incarcerated men and women regarding their harsh treatment in prisons with no meaningful recourse – until now.

“Now is the time for accountability and independent oversight over one of Maryland’s largest government operations – corrections,” said Olinda Moyd, lead advocate and executive board member with The Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform. “The establishment of a Correctional Ombudsman Office is a step in the right direction, not just for those housed in our correctional institutions but also for every person who works, visits and volunteers there.”

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: