Maryland corrections officials transferred the last detainees from the Baltimore City Detention Center, bringing an end to the decrepit jail, the Baltimore Sun reports. “The final closure of this detention center removes a stain on the reputation of our state and Maryland’s correctional system,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “For years, corruption, criminal activity, and deplorable conditions have plagued this facility, but that ends today.” Hogan had announced he would close the Men’s Detention Center and move 1,100 inmates and detainees to other facilities in Baltimore. The jail’s 772 employees are to be transferred to other nearby facilities.
Most cheered the governor’s decision, but there have been some complications. Attorneys for some detainees said they were having trouble keeping tabs on clients as they were moved to nearby buildings, including an annex building, a jail industries building and the women’s detention center. Charles Dorsey III, the state’s deputy public defender, said Stephen Moyer, the state’s corrections secretary, fixed those issues. Thomas Maronick Jr., one attorney who had clients in the facility, said, “It’s a dump, and I’m glad it’s closed.” The jail housed defendants awaiting trial and convicts serving short sentences. The state took it over in 1991.