Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and Public Defender Natasha M. Dartigue today announced the creation of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC), a new initiative dedicated to reducing the mass incarceration of African Americans and other marginalized groups in Maryland prisons and jails. The goal is to examine the scope and causes of this crisis, and to develop a comprehensive plan for reform and recommendations by January 2025.
“The disproportionate mass incarceration of Marylanders, felt most starkly in the African American community, is a devastating trauma in our State that demands our immediate and abiding attention and resolve,” said Attorney General Brown. “It is a sad reality that the vast majority of people who have been removed from communities across the country and put behind bars are Black. The formation of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative will bring together experts from the criminal justice system, academia, government, and the community to identify the underlying causes of this crisis and develop a roadmap for reform. I’m honored to launch this historic collaboration with Public Defender Dartigue.”
“As the first-ever advocacy partnership between the Attorney General and Public Defender, the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative will bring renewed focus to the development and implementation of meaningful reform in the criminal legal system and will amplify the voices of the marginalized communities in more expansive ways. I applaud Attorney General Brown for prioritizing the elimination of mass incarceration, and for taking the bold step to partner with OPD to get this critical work done. We hope that the historic magnitude of this partnership inspires the significant changes that are urgently needed,” said Public Defender Dartigue. “I am thankful for the expertise of our diverse group of community stakeholders and their willingness to join us in this endeavor to address the crisis of mass incarceration and its particularly harsh impact on Black communities and other marginalized populations.”
African Americans constitute approximately 30% of Maryland’s population but make up a staggering 72% of our prison population – the highest percentage of imprisoned African Americans in the country. More specifically, Black men make up 14% of Maryland’s general population but a staggering 73% of the state’s male prison population, while Black women make up 16% of the state’s population but a disproportionate 53% of the female prison population. Nearly 80% of those serving
sentences of 10 years or more are Black, and 41% entered prison as young adults.
The consequences of this crisis are grave – from shattered family and community bonds to lost job skills, lower life expectancies, and forfeited opportunities for wealth accumulation. The determination to put an end to these harms suffered by so many, and to chart a path for a brighter future for all, is the foundation on which the MEJC was born. The MEJC is a partnership between the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, and the University System of Maryland through the Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice & Ethics at University of Maryland College Park, and the Institute for Restorative Justice and Practices at Bowie
State University.
“The United States incarcerates more people per capita, than any other nation in the world. Mass incarceration is a pervasive problem that has significantly contributed to the devastation of families and communities,” said the Honorable Judge Alexander Williams. “Despite a reduction in incarceration rates in the U.S., Black people remain overrepresented in our prison and jail populations. America’s failure to sufficiently address the underlying causes of mass incarceration, which disproportionately imparts minority populations, is one of the grand challenges of our time.”
“This initiative is an opportunity to help change the lives of individuals, families and communities,” said Dr. Aminta Breaux, president of Bowie State University. “By collaborating and working with the Attorney General, Public Defender and the other
partners on this project, we can provide more hope for people. Maryland can make a difference and reverse the decades long pattern of black and brown people dominating our prison population.”
To accomplish its goals, the MEJC will be comprised of committees focused on the issues that drive incarceration rates. Each committee will be led by a representative from the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the Public Defender, and a community partner. More than three dozen criminal justice key government, community and private sector stakeholders will be involved in this work which include:
ACLU
Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile
Justice Strategy Group
CASA
Caucus of African American Leaders of
Anne Arundel County
Center for Urban Families
Disability Rights Maryland
Federal Public Defender for the District of
Maryland
Members of the Maryland Congressional
Delegation
Maryland Criminal Defense Attorney’s
Association
Maryland Department of Health
Maryland Department of Housing &
Community Development
Maryland Department of Human Services
Maryland Department of Juvenile
Services
Fenix Youth Project Inc.
FreeState Justice
Gatekeepers
Institute for Restorative Justice and
Practices at Bowie State University
Job Opportunities Task Force
Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for
Education, Justice & Ethics at University
of Maryland
Justice Policy Institute
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle
Life After Release
Maryland Administrative Office of the
Courts
Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform
Maryland Chiefs of Police Association
Maryland Department of Labor
Maryland Judiciary
Maryland NAACP
Maryland Sheriffs’ Association
Maryland State’s Attorney’s Association
Mayor of Baltimore’s Office
Office of the Attorney General
Office of the Public Defender
Out for Justice
TIME Organization
Turnaround Tuesday
University of Baltimore Center for
Criminal Justice Reform
University of Maryland School of Law
Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the
Law
Youth Advocate Programs
MEJC’s structure and makeup was guided, in part, by input received during listening sessions, held by the Attorney General and Public Defender, to gather critical feedback from residents, small business owners, stakeholder organizations, formerly incarcerated individuals, and others directly impacted by this crisis.
The MEJC held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at Bowie State University. The public can access a recording of the meeting here: https://youtube.com/live/RvLsmEmPgHQ?feature=share.
The MEJC will host a public forum on November 6, 2023, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, which the public is encouraged to attend. An MEJC website is also currently in development so that Marylanders can access the latest developments and follow MEJC’s progress as we work towards building a more fair, just, and equitable Maryland.