Maryland Attorney General, Public Defender get community input on handling of mass incarceration

BALTIMORE - The state's chief legal officer partnered with the public defender's office to drum up ideas from community members on ways to address the mass incarceration of Black men and women Monday evening. 

The public forum hosted at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum is one of the latest efforts to examine current laws, policies and practices in Maryland. 

"Why is it that in Maryland more than 70 percent of the prison population is young Black men and women, most acutely, among young Black men yet we represent less than 33 percent of the population?" questioned Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. 

The discussion comes on the heels of the recently launched Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC), which is made up of more than forty government and community organizations across the state. 

"The mission of the MEJC is to address the racial disparities in the incarceration of African Americans and other marginalized groups in Maryland's prisons and jails," explained Christian Gant with the Office of the Attorney General. "By recognizing, researching and tackling the multitude of factors that lead to and contribute to mass incarceration and its overwhelming effect on persons of color and disadvantaged communities."

During the forum, key players heard community feedback from several people with much of the focus on outreach for the youth as the spotlight sits over juvenile crime. 

The crowd participated in several interactive polls with one question on how Maryland should address the issue of juvenile crime.

Eighty-three of 85 people voting in the crowd chose the option to increase investments in extracurriculars and diversion programs over increased penalties under the law in response to that question. 

"We need to actually work on what's going on in the community," said one community speaker. "They don't see success; they don't see structure... They see abandonment, they see disenfranchisement."

Others who spent time behind bars suggested using their success stories after returning to the community from prison to help others diver away from entering the system. 

"If you do not nurture the youth, they will burn the village down until it's warm. What you're seeing, it's on fire," explained another speaker. "We are examples of what we can change and what we can become."

In a timeline released during the forum, the next step involves the launch of committee meetings starting this month through December. 

At the beginning of next year, MEJC plans to release a preliminary legislative recommendations for the 2024 session.

In January 2025, a final report is expected to be published followed by the implementation of those recommendations.