As Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s first term in office draws to a close, his progress on making criminal justice reforms has been mixed at best, and bold promises he made have gone largely unfulfilled, the Baltimore Sun reports. This year, two correctional officers were killed by inmates, the first since 1984. Inmate violence over the past three years has led to severe injury or, in some cases, death for dozens of prisoners in the state’s prisons and jails. “They’ve done a terrible job,” said Ron Bailey of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92, the bargaining agent for corrections workers. State monitors and federal authorities issued damning reports about conditions inside juvenile detention facilities, pointing to out-of-control violence, inadequate staffing, a lack of programs, and other problems.
Linda Heisner of Advocates for Children and Youth said the administration’s record on juvenile justice reform has been disappointing. “We’re about the same place where we were four years ago,” she. “Many more things have not changed than have changed.” She added: “They came in with a very strong condemnation of the previous administration’s practices, and went on and continued most of them.”
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.record21oct21,0,902889.story