ALERT: Urging Maryland High Court to Take “Extraordinary” Action to Prevent COVID-19 Spread

Prisons and jails are potential hotbeds for infection, endangering the people who are incarcerated and the general public.

The Committee along with families whose loved ones are incarcerated, public health experts, former state officials, and other attorneys, filed an emergency court petition to the Maryland Court of Appeals to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention and beyond. We are urging the Court to do the following:

  • Prioritize high risk prisoners for release;
  • Require Courts to expedite individualized determinations of suitability for release;
  • Cease new admissions to the system unless necessary;
  • Eliminate obstacles to expand the Court’s ability to make release decisions;
  • Require Maryland to release prisoners through the parole proceedings, good time credits, medical parole, home detention and clemency;
  • Mandate that Maryland take all measures the CDC recommends for correctional facilities;
  • Undertake measures to reduce the number of detained juveniles; and
  • Encourage the Governor to work with the Parole Commission to release as soon as possible incarcerated persons who pose little risk to public safety.
“COVID-19 poses an unprecedented threat to the health of people who are imprisoned and staff and creates a risk of overwhelming our health care system. Now is the time for urgent action to send home prisoners who can safely be released and reduce the density in prisons and jails so that those who remain can engage in social distancing and employ other measures to stop the spread. Waiting for the further spread will be too late.” – Jonathan Smith, Executive Director

By taking action we can reduce transmission and infection and help to ensure hospitals and health care providers are not unnecessarily overwhelmed by preventable infections from prisons and jails.

Related Content