Pubdate: Sun, 27 Mar 2016
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2016 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Ovetta Wiggins

MD. HOUSE SET TO TAKE UP CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL

A sweeping criminal justice bill that cleared the Maryland Senate 
last week is supposed to right some of the wrongs of the decades-long 
war on drugs.

The legislation aims to reduce Maryland's prison population and save 
hundreds of millions of dollars on prison costs by easing sentencing 
laws for nonviolent drug offenders and pushing people who are 
arrested with drugs into treatment instead of behind bars.

But the bill was almost derailed last week after the Senate Judicial 
Proceedings Committee amended the measure, arguing that it went too 
far in keeping offenders out of jail and could pose a risk to public 
safety. Now the bill heads to the more liberal House of Delegates, 
where an emotional debate is expected this week.

Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Robert A. Zirkin 
(D-Baltimore County) defended the amendments on the Senate floor last 
week by rattling off a list of violent criminals who, without the 
revisions, would have been eligible for automatic parole or for 
shorter sentences after probation violations.

That brought a sharp rebuke from Sen. Delores G. Kelley (DBaltimore 
County), one of many African American lawmakers who say the amended 
bill does not do enough to free those who are trying to rehabilitate 
their lives and deserve a second chance.

"Nobody in here wants violent people on the street, but the judge is 
going to consider violence when he sentences initially," Kelley said 
during the floor debate. "To scare us all to death with situations 
that aren't the norm . . . is not helpful. . . . Inspite of all the 
hardwork you did, not all of it was smart. I hope that in a 
conference committee or somewhere, wecome back toward the middle."

The Justice Reinvestment Act would:

Send people convicted of drug possession for treatment rather than to prison.

Eliminate sentencing disparities that have resulted in thousands of 
mostly African American men serving long sentences for crack cocaine 
convictions while others, mainly white, received less time for 
convictions involving the powder form of the drug.

Make it easier to have drug-possession convictions expunged.

Offer drug offenders the same number of credits to reduce their 
sentences that are given to other nonviolent offenders.

Allow the 1,700 people who are serving mandatory minimums for drug 
offenses to appeal their sentences.

The bill is comparable to legislation passed in recent years in 
nearly a dozen states, including Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as 
governors and legislatures struggle to cut prison costs and address 
sentencing disparities and aging prison populations.

Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery), a member of the Judicial 
Proceedings Committee, compared Maryland's bill with other major 
legislation the state has passed in recent years, including the 
abolition of the death penalty, reforms in mandatory-minimum laws and 
the enactment of the Second Chance Act, which shields certain 
nonviolent misdemeanor criminal records from public view, making it 
easier for ex-offenders to find jobs.

"This legislation is the most ambitious and comprehensive of criminal 
justice reforms that we've done," Raskin said. "It's a real big ship. 
. . . You push a little too far to one side, you can tip it over."

In Maryland, 58 percent of prison admissions in 2014 were for 
nonviolent offenses. And possession of drugs with the intent to 
distribute was the No. 1 reason people were sentenced to state 
prison, according to data compiled for state policymakers by the Pew 
Charitable Trust.

More than 3,200 people return to prison because of technical 
violations of their probation, such as failing a drug test or missing 
an appointment, Pew found. Those individuals remain behind bars, on 
average, for 13 months, at a cost to the state of $34 million. The 
Pew data was part of a year-long effort by a panel of lawmakers, 
judges, public defenders, prosecutors and advocates to grapple with 
ways to reduce Maryland's prison population and costs.

The panel, whose recommendations formed the backbone of the criminal 
justice reform bill, examined why Maryland has had large drops in the 
rates of violent crime and property crime over the past decade but 
only modest changes to its prison population. It concluded that the 
number of nonviolent offenders serving time has kept the prison 
population from shrinking significantly, and that it has kept 
corrections costs at about $1.3 billion a year.

The original bill was projected to reduce Maryland's prison 
population from just over 20,000 to about 17,600 over 10 years, 
saving the state nearly $250 million.

But the Judicial Proceedings Committee, citing public safety 
concerns, changed parts of the legislation that would have slashed 
prison time for all probation violations and allowed automatic parole 
for nearly all offenders after 25 percent of a sentence is served.

The changes, a Pew analyst said, would reduce the state's savings to 
$34 million over 10 years.

That finding prompted advocates, members of the Legislative Black 
Caucus and other liberal lawmakers to say that the bill had been gutted.

The Senate committee responded by dialing back one of its amendments, 
so that only probation violators who are considered a risk to public 
safety could be returned to prison for long periods of time.

Zirkin, the chief architect of the amendments, said Pew's analysis of 
the bill's impact included only "guaranteed" savings and does not 
factor in the reduction in prison costs that would come if many of 
the 1,700 inmates serving mandatory minimums in Maryland appeal those 
sentences and are released.

"This is a huge bill moving forward," Zirkin said. "If this bill 
lives or dies based on putting someone who is dangerous back out on 
the street, then it should die."

Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) countered that he had 
hoped that the bill "would put Maryland at the forefront of getting 
people out of prison, getting people the services they needed and 
actually coming up with a more humane and a cheaper criminal justice system."

He said it appeared the bill made a "small step" toward that effort.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said in an interview that he likes the amended 
legislation and is concerned about plans in the House to "try to tack 
on additional things . . . that could jeopardize the bill."

In the House, the bill will be considered first by the Judiciary 
Committee, chaired by longtime Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D-Prince 
George's). If it is approved by that panel, the bill would go to the 
House floor.

It is not clear what changes will be sought by delegates. Last year, 
some members of the Justice Reinvestment Council sought to repeal 
mandatory minimums altogether, and that effort could be revived in 
coming days. Nearly 90 percent of the people serving mandatory 
minimum sentences in Maryland are African American.

At a private meeting of the Legislative Black Caucus on Wednesday, 
Del. Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk (D-Prince George's) could be overheard 
through a closed door encouraging the caucus to take a strong stand 
on the bill.

"We are 47 black members, and we can make a difference," she said. 
"This is an issue that we can make a difference on."

Members of a Judiciary Committee work group have begun poring over 
the 90-page bill sent over by the Senate, going line by line to 
discuss possible changes.

On Monday, they will focus on the probation-revocation caps.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom