After MD inmate death, 19 correctional officers and 8 medical personnel administratively charged

Nineteen correctional officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown have been administratively charged in the wake of an inmate being found dead at the prison on May 20, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

The public safety department’s Intelligence and Investigative Division and Maryland State Police are jointly investigating “potential criminal misconduct by Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) officers and staff,” according to a July 15 email from the department’s communications office.

An administrative investigation into staff members’ actions was done simultaneously.

In addition to the 19 correctional officers, the department also has administratively charged eight medical personnel. Those eight have been banned from state prison facilities.

The actions relate to the discovery of Roxbury inmate Colin Wolf’s body around 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, public safety department spokesperson Keith Martucci confirmed.

The Baltimore Banner reported July 15 that an officer told Wolf’s cellmate he needed to see Wolf as part of his count during rounds, but the cellmate replied Wolf was asleep and refused to wake him.

A boot print was found on Wolf’s head, according to internal reports The Banner reviewed.

Wolf’s father, a retired Baltimore Police detective, told The Banner that he was informed by investigators that his son might have been dead in his cell for hours and possibly days, according to The Banner story.

Roxbury, also known as RCI, is a level II medium security prison, according to the correctional services’ website. It is part of a state prison complex along Roxbury Road that includes the Maryland Correctional Training Center and the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown.

Actions Maryland public safety officials have taken so far

The administrative investigation was into RCI staff’s actions that “failed to uphold the agency’s standards and commitment to the safety and wellbeing of the public and those within its care,” according to a statement from the department’s communications office.

To ensure the 19 correctional officers and eight medical staff members are “held accountable, DPSCS has begun disciplinary proceedings against the 19 officers, though the Department is bound to comply with the legally-mandated Correctional Officer Bill of Rights. Disciplinary actions may include lesser sanctions up to termination.”

The email from the public safety department also said it took actions to promote the safety of its staff, inmates and the public.

Those actions include:

• Taking immediate and crucial steps to preserve evidence and secure the crime scene.
• Having high-ranking supervisors (lieutenants or captains) now physically shadow tier officers to confirm that well-being checks of inmate are done correctly.
• Assigning sergeants to posts to help support the rest of the line staff throughout the facility.
• Deploying mental health staff to the tier of the incident to evaluate the welfare of surrounding inmates and provide an opportunity for witnesses to come forward confidentially.

The department also announced two administrative changes at RCI.

The security chief is no longer employed by the state. The warden will not be employeed by the state as of Aug. 1.

Because the disciplinary process is still pending, the department cannot comment further.

There also were multiple stabbings at RCI on July 4, Martucci confirmed. Those injuries, to inmates, were not life threatening, he said.

The stabbings occurred during a fight in a housing unit between inmates suspected to be members of MS-13 and the Black Guerrilla Family gangs, Martucci confirmed.

State Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington/Frederick, shared a letter he sent July 13 to DPSCS Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs noting several issues, including concerns about the safety of correctional staff.

“The men and women serving the facilities and the individuals within the facilities deserve the confidence that Department Leadership is doing everything possible to provide a safe & positive working environment through adequate staffing, effective security measures, proper training, and strong institutional oversight,” Corderman wrote to Scruggs.

Corderman wrote that he visited RCI the previous week “on the heels of nearly a dozen stabbings within a 72-hour period.”

“I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current state of affairs,” Corderman wrote to Scruggs.

Corderman urged Scruggs to visit RCI and meet with correctional workers and RCI leadership.

“I hope this serves as a turning point that results in stronger oversight, greater accountability, and renewed attention to the safety of the staff who keep Maryland’s correctional institutions operating every day,” Corderman wrote.

Asked for comment Wednesday about the announcement that DPSCS had administratively charged 19 correctional officers, Corderman said that is a “reflection of failed leadership of the current administration.”

Corderman said he visited RCI unannounced on July 8 after the reported stabbings over the holiday weekend and because RCI staff members reached out to his office for help. Corderman said he met the new warden during that visit.

Corderman said he believes the conditions at RCI are “worse than they have ever been, especially the last four years.” He expressed concerns about staffing levels at the prison.

There have been multiple inmate deaths at RCI and Corderman said he fears more deaths could occur there, saying the “greatest fear is that it will be a staff member.”

There have been at least three inmate deaths at RCI in the past 17 months that are being investigated by the state police homicide unit, according to Herald-Mail reports.

They are:

• Lawrence Antonio Borom, 21, was found lying on the floor at RCI with apparent head injuries on March 13, 2025.
• Kelvin Hite, 27, was found unresponsive in his RCI cell and was later reported deceased. DPSCS contacted state police on May 4, 2026, about Hite’s death.
• Colin Wolf, 32, was found unresponsive in his RCI cell on May 20, 2026.

The Wolf and Hite cases remain under investigation, according to a state police spokesperson.

Reaction

“I speak for the entire Department when I say I am outraged at the actions taken by a small but unacceptable number of officers and staff who failed to uphold the values of this agency, their responsibility to the public, and — most importantly — those entrusted to their care,” Scruggs said in a statement shared by the department’s communications office. “It is my pledge to Marylanders to hold every person accountable to the fullest extent of my authority and to implement the corrective actions necessary to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. DPSCS takes pride in our successful efforts to rehabilitate and reduce recidivism. But the great work of many cannot achieve our goals if even a handful of officers violate the tenets of our Department—and basic human decency.”

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3 represents unionized correctional officers in Maryland state prisons.

Linda He, spokeswoman for AFSCME Council 3, provided the following comment via email on Wednesday:

“The violence at Roxbury is unfortunately nothing new. Without sufficient staffing levels and proper training and resources, both staff and incarcerated individuals face risk of violence, injury, and even death every single day. DPSCS leaders continue to rely on short-sighted and unsustainable solutions, such as mandatory 16-hour shifts, when what’s actually needed is simply more staff and better training. Without addressing the low pay and dangerous working conditions that staff face, DPSCS will continue to struggle with record assault and homicide rates in state facilities, and incarcerated individuals will not receive the programming and rehabilitation they need.”

The eight medical personnel who have been administratively charged and banned from state prison facilities worked for Centurion, the prison system’s medical contractor, Martucci said.

A spokesperson for Virginia-based Centurion could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

Reporting by Julie E. Greene, The Herald-Mail / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.