By Jordan Smith
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Gov. Larry Hogan has signed an executive order to grant early release to hundreds of Maryland inmates to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The executive order, signed on Sunday, also allows corrections officials to accelerate parole and home detention decisions as a tool to reduce the vulnerable prison population.
Spokesman Michael Ricci said 110 inmates aged 60 years and older already have been identified for release. About 700 inmates who are both near the end of their sentencing and are at high risk have been identified as having potential for release. Sex offenders and those displaying COVID-19 symptoms are not among those eligible for release, he said.
Robert L. Green, Maryland’s secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said he would immediately start implementing the executive order.
The American Civil Liberties Union, other advocates, Democrats in the Congressional delegation, and family members of inmates had been vigorously lobbying for release of inmates who pose no danger to the public but are vulnerable to the virus.
“This is a victory for public health, public safety, and common sense,” said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in a Facebook post. “We applaud the governor for taking these important steps and are pleased to see him incorporate many of the recommendations we made in a proposal we sent around a month ago.”
More than 18,000 inmates are incarcerated in state prisons.
In Maryland prisons, one inmate has died from COVID-19. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said more than 130 staff members and inmates tested positive for the coronavirus.
Initially, Hogan dismissed the idea of releasing inmates, saying that they are safer in the prisons. He compared the correctional facilities to that of a quarantine space. Correctional officials instituted temperature checks and staff member screenings during each shift change. Officials said that free inmate calls and video visitation elevated sanitation protocols, and a visitor ban was instituted.
Once the inmates are approved for release, they must go through examination for symptoms of COVID-19 and have verified a home plan, officials explained. Once released, those individuals must quarantine themselves for 14 days.