Sign In
Free Newsletter
Lawsuit: Washington jail must provide addiction treatment
In a novel case that could have national implications, the Washington state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued a county sheriff's office to force it to provide opiate-withdrawal medication to prisoners, rather than requiring them to go cold turkey.
Montgomery County deaths spur Maryland drunken-driving bills
The drunken-driving-related deaths in Montgomery County last year of two recent high-school graduates and a police officer have spurred legislation to allow judges to imprison adults who host underage-drinking parties, permit drunken-driving victims to get punitive damages and increase the punishment for drunken motorists who kill people.
Settlement reached in class-action suit over conditions at BCDC
The Baltimore City Detention Center’s health care system will be overhauled and its facilities will be improved as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit, lawyers for the plaintiffs announced Wednesday. The Public Justice Center, the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge in June to […]
Closure of Baltimore detention center could accelerate replacement
The closure of the Baltimore City Detention Center could accelerate a plan to begin replacing buildings within the existing correctional complex. Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen T. Moyer said Tuesday that the closure of the facility, which was recommended in a 2013 legislative report calling for replacement of buildings at […]
Maryland transfers last detainees at closed detention center
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland moved the last inmates out of the dangerously decrepit men’s section of the Baltimore City Detention Center on Tuesday, state officials said, completing the closure of the notorious facility. The jail pre-dates modern penal facility standards, with some of its walls dating to the 19th century. It has been known for its […]
2 Eastern Shore corrections officers charged with burglary, assault
CAMBRIDGE — Two probationary Dorchester County correction officers have been accused of burglarizing a home in Cambridge. WBOC-TV reported Monday that 21-year-old Jacob Muir of Hurlock and 22-year-old Jacob Jackson of East New Market have been arrested and placed on unpaid suspension pending an investigation. Cambridge police say the two men, who were inside the […]
Attorneys seek to keep tabs on relocating inmates
As the Baltimore City Detention Center men’s facility is emptied, a primary concern for attorneys with clients housed there is how to track them down for meetings and trial preparation. With 750 inmates in the process of being transferred to local facilities in the city, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is working […]
Editorial Advisory Board: First the BCDC; next, the rest of the Maryland Penitentiary
We applaud Gov. Larry Hogan and his public safety team for closing the Men’s Dormitory of the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). This section of the jail complex is part of the old Maryland Penitentiary, the design and construction of which began during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson and parts of which are also incorporated […]
Praise, questions on Baltimore City Detention Center closing
The beleaguered Baltimore City Detention Center will close its doors immediately, and advocates for prison reform as well as defense attorneys are hoping the hundreds of inmates slated to be relocated will find better conditions wherever they end up. Gov. Larry Hogan announced at a news conference Thursday afternoon that the men’s facility will begin […]
Prosecutor: Texas jail death investigated thoroughly
HEMPSTEAD, Texas — A Texas prosecutor says the death of a black woman whose family disputes authorities’ finding that she hanged herself in a jail cell is being examined as thoroughly as a murder investigation. Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said Monday that there are many unanswered questions about the death of Sandra Bland, […]
A new weapon in Maryland’s fight against heroin
After almost 20 years dealing with convicts, Major Craig Rowe could see the trend. “The majority of our crimes in Washington County are either directly related to or a byproduct of addiction, [whether] crime directly related to the heroin or the drugs or a crime they committed to obtain the drugs,” the warden of Washington […]
ACLU: Squalid conditions at troubled Baltimore jail
BALTIMORE — Moldy showers and cells are infested with mice and cockroaches, toilets are broken for days and medical care is poor or nonexistent at a notoriously troubled Baltimore city jail, the ACLU and Public Justice Center said in court documents filed Tuesday. The groups want a federal judge to reopen a lawsuit against the […]
