Pubdate: Fri, 18 Dec 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Luke Broadwater

PANEL CALLS FOR REVAMPED DRUG LAWS

General Assembly Council Recommends Shorter Terms for Nonviolent Offenders

An influential General Assembly panel is recommending significant 
changes in sentencing laws for drug use - part of a plan to imprison 
thousands fewer people and use the savings to help others stay out of jail.

The bipartisan Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council says the 
state can reduce the number of imprisoned Marylanders by 4,000 over 
the next decade, a decrease of nearly 20 percent.

It recommends using the roughly $250 million that would be saved to 
invest in drug treatment programs and other services to help 
ex-prisoners successfully return to society.

"Conservatives and liberals have come together to make the statement 
that the long-fought 'War on Drugs' is a total failure," said 
Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe, a member of the panel. "Using 
mass incarceration to address a health problem has had a huge cost in 
devastation to our communities."

The panel could not reach consensus on more controversial proposals, 
including a plan to cut maximum sentences for drug dealers by 75 percent.

The group was created by the General Assembly with Gov. Larry Hogan's 
signature. It included a prosecutor, two former judges and Republican 
and Democratic lawmakers. After working on its proposals for six 
months, it said Thursday it recommends significantly reducing maximum 
sentences for convicted drug users.

"This will be the largest drug-treatment bill that has ever passed in 
the state of Maryland," said state Sen. Michael Hough, a Frederick 
County Republican.

America has the world's largest prison population, with more inmates 
than even China or Russia. The panel reviewed Maryland's inmate 
population and found 58 percent were jailed for nonviolent crimes.

"Over the last decade, Maryland has achieved large declines in both 
its violent and property crime rates, but only modest reductions in 
the state prison population," the council wrote in its final report. 
It noted that more than 20,000 people are in Maryland prisons, at a 
cost of $1.3 billion a year.

Under Maryland law, possession of narcotics is punishable by up to 
four years in prison for a first offense. The panel recommends 
sending many offenders to drug treatment programs and, if they are 
sent to jail, cutting the maximum penalty for a first offense to no 
more than a year. The panel also wants to eliminate the disparate 
sentencing practices for crack cocaine versus powdered cocaine, which 
the panel said "contributed to disparities in sentencing between 
black and white offenders."

For marijuana possession, the panel recommended legislation ordering 
that judges cannot impose more than a 6-month sentence for a first 
conviction. It also recommended legislation requiring prompt 
placement in residential drug treatment facilities for most drug offenders.

"Research indicates that incarcerating drug offenders can actually 
increase the likelihood they will recidivate once they leave prison," 
the panel wrote. "This is because prison can exacerbate the criminal 
risk factors that drive recidivism by expanding the sphere of 
antisocial influences."

It also recommends reserving prison beds only for "serious and 
violent offenders," strengthening parole and probation supervision, 
and expanding re-entry services. To become law, its recommendations 
would have to be approved as legislation in the General Assembly and 
signed by the governor.

"The council's recommendations are a roadmap to make our streets 
safer and save millions of taxpayer dollars," Senate President Thomas 
V. Mike Miller said in a statement.

Hogan also spoke of a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars - on 
drug treatment rather than incarceration.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that every Maryland tax dollar 
spent on our criminal justice system delivers the highest return on 
our investment in public safety," Hogan said in a statement. The 
council "focused on how to treat offenders suffering from substance 
abuse or mental health problems, and explored reentry programs that 
could help them become contributing members of their communities once 
they return home."

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat on 
the panel who has a reputation for being tough on crime, said he 
argued against cutting sentences for drug dealing. But he said he 
supports "sensible changes," such as reduced sentences for drug possession.

"We've been doing the same thing for 40 years, and we still have the 
same problems," Shellenberger said. "Tweaking the system and using 
the money in a smarter way is a very good concept."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom