Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform

04/17/2026

03/26/2026

The time has come for a major investment of time, energy, and money to make restorative justice diversion a common response to adolescent lawbreaking.

03/05/2026

https://marylandmatters.org/2026/03/04/senate-advances-measure-to-limit-adult-charges-for-youth/?emci=8541edc6-8d18-f111-a69a-000d3a1f0a97&emdi=18bf72a5-9a18-f111-a69a-000d3a1f0a97&ceid=260345
As of January, Maryland was one of three states where a certain offense committed by teens as young as 14 are automatically sent to adult court

Senators beat back four Republican amendments Wednesday to advance a bill that would reduce the number of crimes for which youth are automatically charged as an adult, with a final vote possible this week.

02/28/2026

https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/youth-adult-charges-legislation-VTBP4ILBDNBHRGLVPG2OSJZIYI/?schk=YES&rchk=YES&utm_source=The+Banner&utm_campaign=579b2814ee-NL_PMSC_20260227_1700&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fed7
5856d2-579b2814ee-617477518&mc_cid=579b2814ee
A bill that would reduce the number of charges for which teenagers are automatically charged as adults passed out of the Maryland Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee on Friday, a sign the legislation has found purchase after more than a decade of advocacy by criminal justice reformers.

The bill -- a compromise that shortens the list of crimes that automatically result in adult charges -- passed out of the Maryland Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee on Friday.

02/25/2026

https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/re-punished-for-the-past-how-criminal-records-increase-prison-terms-and-racial-injustice/?emci=10453973-4912-f111-a69a-000d3a57593f&emdi=a7a8b5a9-5a12-f111-a69a-000d3a57593f&ceid=14180689
Take, for example, someone with a criminal record who received a 20 year sentence in Maryland. On average, 12.6 of those years were added to an initial sentence because of their record.

States are re-punishing people for past convictions, adding years or even decades to already long prison terms because of old convictions.

02/07/2026

https://marylandmatters.org/2026/02/05/senate-committee-again-ponders-bill-to-reduce-the-number-juveniles-charged-as-adults/

“Start the cases in the jurisdiction, whether adult or juvenile, where they’re most likely to end up based on the statistics that we have at our disposal,” West said. “Why would we want to multiply and waste legal, judicial, etc. resources having two trials for each case, if we can avoid it?”

For a second year, a Senate committee considered legislation that would alter laws that send some juveniles automatically to adult court, and for a second year, law enforcement groups argued against it.

02/04/2026

The Maryland Clean Slate Act reflects the values voters across the political spectrum have made clear: once someone has earned a second chance, the system shouldn’t stand in their way.

Most Maryland voters favor reducing barriers to a fresh start for those with non-violent convictions, a new poll shows.

12/06/2025

Olinda Moyd, a prison reform advocate who serves on a state correctional oversight board, said that whatever the label used to describe it, “isolation is isolation.” She described solitary confinement as a tool that is overused by prison administrators to control the population, despite the fact that is known to cause mental harm.

Criminal justice reform advocates say the long stretches of forced solitude in Maryland are known to cause mental health issues and equate the conditions to torture.

11/27/2025

With Maryland’s state and local elections approaching in 2026, both voters and candidates should keep in mind that “tough on crime” may not be so smart, either for public safety or for our taxpayers’ burden.

More time behind bars does not mean better outcomes for inmates, who would be better served if Maryland worked to trim its prison population and use the savings for programs to help those incarcerated, writes Phil Caroom.

11/14/2025

In Maryland, a recent report from a workgroup of the Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform and Emerging and Best Practices said that youth spent 90 to 180 days in adult jails before being transferred to juvenile court in fiscal 2024.

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. will try again to pass a bill ending the practice of charging youth as adults for some offenses, saying it affects youths physically and emotionally. And if that argument doesn't work, he said it costs the state about $17 million a year.

11/12/2025

"The justification for felony murder is that it acts as a deterrent but studies have shown it does not deter or reduce risk of re-offence as it’s “hard for something to be a deterrent if no one knows about it”.

The host spoke about a little known charge that sends people to prison for life for murder even if they haven’t actually murdered anybody

11/10/2025

“This practice fails to protect communities. Instead, it disproportionately impacts children of color, diverts resources away from critical services for children and families, places children in dangerous environments that more often result in subsequent violent or general criminal behavior,” says the report.

A Maryland commission is recommending that the state do away with its practice of automatically charging youth as adults for certain crimes, saying it doesn't improve public safety and can harm the youth.