Incarceration emergency! Keep state politicians from increasing mandatory prison time

Show up at the Maryland Senate Tuesday, Jan. 30 to stop three bills aimed at increasing the minimum time inmates must stay in prison, trying juveniles as adults, and restricting decisions on when time has been served.

Our Republican governor and some Democrats are rushing these bills — SB 197, SB 198, and SB 199 — to look tough on crime in an election year, after three years of high homicide rates in Baltimore.

In contrast, Hogan and a bipartisan coalition supported The Justice Reinvestment Act two years ago, which made significant improvements in Maryland’s sentencing laws, including eliminating mandatory minimums for low-level offenders and other reforms. These new, “emergency” bills are a definite step backward.

Block off your calendar for next Tuesday, Jan. 30 to show up at the State House in Annapolis and let Bennet Wilcox, from Jews United for Justice, know you are coming. He is working over the weekend putting together carpools.

And for more information on the bills, go to Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).