State Audit Finds Maryland Prison Employees Misused Funds in Prisoner Accounts by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke State lawmakers have registered outrage after a state audit, released in October 2010, revealed that employees of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC) at five finance offices in the Baltimore …
Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Retires in Wake of DUI Arrest by by Brandon Sample It is a familiar pattern for many prominent public officials. Get caught breaking the law, express remorse for your actions, and then tender your resignation. But make sure to claim that your resignation had nothing …
Maryland: Convicted Felons Receive Victims’ Compensation by Gary Hunter Since 2003, Maryland’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board has awarded about $1.8 million to claimants with criminal convictions. In Baltimore, over 120 people who received victims’ compensation had been arrested for selling or manufacturing drugs; more than seventy of those payments went …
Terminally Ill Maryland Prisoner May Refuse Treatment; State’s Highest Court Denies Forced Treatment by Mark Wilson The Maryland Court of Appeals held that prison officials cannot force a terminally ill prisoner to undergo kidney dialysis treatment. In 1995, Troy Reid was sentenced to 40 years in the custody of the …
Maryland Law Counts Prisoners According to Pre-Incarceration Residence by Michael Rigby by Mike Rigby A new Maryland law – the first of its kind – changed the way state prisoners were counted in the 2010 census. Historically, prisoners have been counted according to the location of the facility where they …
$2 Million Award in Maryland Prisoner’s Work Crew Death by A jury in Prince George’s County, Maryland found that state prison and highway officials and the driver of a private dump truck were liable in an accident that killed a prisoner who was picking up trash on the side of …
Registered Sex Offender Remained on City Payroll While Incarcerated by Michael Brodheim Dennis J. McLaughlin, a water maintenance worker for Baltimore’s Department of Public Works (DPW), continued to earn his salary from 2007 to 2008 while serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl. McLaughlin, 37, pleaded guilty …
$500,000 Settlement in Maryland Prisoner’s Death from Pepper Spraying by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A half-million dollar settlement was paid to the family of a Maryland prisoner who died when prison officials used excessive pepper spray while extracting him from his cell, and then failed to provide medical …
Prisoner’s Homicide at Maryland Jail Not Prosecuted by Gary Hunter Ronnie White’s death by strangulation will go unpunished. On June 2, 2009, almost a year after White died amid a flurry of controversy at the Prince George’s County Correctional Center in Maryland, state’s attorney Glenn F. Ivey announced there was …
Maryland Prison Guards Busted for Helping Gang Members by Gary Hunter In April 2009, four Maryland prison guards were indicted for participating in a variety of illegal activities involving the Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) at the Metropolitan Transition Center (MTC) in Baltimore. Guards Asia Burrus, Musheerah Habeebullah, Takevia Smith and …
Fourth Circuit Holds Individual Capacity Damage Claims Unavailable Under RLUIPA by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000cc et seq., does not authorize individual capacity damages actions. The Court’s ruling came in the appeal of …
Maryland: Parole Supervision Fee Likely Does More Harm than Good by Bob Williams In a 2009 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank and public interest advocacy group at New York University School of Law, the authors conclude that the state of Maryland’s assessment of a $40 …
Settlement Promises Improvements at Baltimore City Jail by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On August 18, 2009, a settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit over conditions of confinement at the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). The lawsuit dates back to 1971 and had been on the federal district court’s …
$100,000 Settlement in Assault and Battery Claim During Baltimore Youth’s Arrest by A $100,000 settlement was reached in a lawsuit that claimed a Baltimore City police officer was too aggressive when subduing a teenager, causing serious internal injuries. While patrolling an area on January 27, 2007, which had experienced a …
New Jersey DOC Report: Megan’s Law Costly and Ineffective by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In December 2008, the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) submitted a research report on the practical and monetary effects of Megan’s Law to the U.S. Department of Justice. The report concluded that Megan’s Law, …
Mental Illness Prevalent Among County Jail Prisoners, Especially Women by Gary Hunter A random sampling of 2,000 prisoners in five county jails found that, on average, nearly 15 percent of male prisoners and 31 percent of female prisoners suffer from serious mental illness. The study was headed by Dr. Henry …
$42,500 Settlement By City of Baltimore in Excessive Force Arrest Suit by The City of Baltimore, Maryland paid $42,500 to settle the excessive use of force claim during arrest brought by Anthony E. Chase. On December 3, 2005, around midnight, Chase was arrested by officer Eric L. Thomas and another …
$100,000 Settlement in Tort Suit Over Assault by Baltimore Police Officer by The City of Baltimore, Maryland, paid $100,000 to settle a tort claim of assault and assault and battery for injuries sustained by teenager Donald Kosh during a foot chase and subsequent arrest. While on patrol on January 27, …
Maryland Prisoners Make Flags by Made in the U.S.A. got a whole new meaning with the passage of a recent Maryland law that requires all Maryland and United States flags to be produced in the United States. For many years in Maryland, all but one flag that flies at the …
Maryland Prisoners Receive Kosher Food by Brandon Sample Beginning on April 9, 2009, The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) started providing kosher meals to state prisoners with religious dietary needs. The decision to provide kosher food came after a meeting between the Secretary of the DPSCS …
