Attorney General Anthony Brown, right, delivers opening remarks during the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative meeting June 4, 2024, at the Office of Public Defender Training Center in Linthicum Heights. Public defender Natasha Dartigute listens. Photo by Willam J. Ford.
A group seeking to end mass incarceration in Maryland plans to finalize a rough draft of its recommendations in August and produce a final report by January, in time for the start of the General Assembly session. 2025.
The Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC), co-chaired by Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) and Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, was formed in October and met Tuesday at the Public Defender Training Center in Linthicum Heights to discuss its progress . The goal is to present the final report not only to state lawmakers, but also to community leaders and other stakeholders.
“You will essentially be the authors of the report that comes out in January, so as much information as you can provide will be great,” Dartigue said during the nearly two-hour session. ‘You don’t have to put out seven [proposals] if you have a solid, well-developed three or four. That is amazing. It’s really about quality, not quantity.”
The members are members of seven working groups that focus on these topics:
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Education, workforce development and economic opportunity;
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Prison, jail and detention center reform;
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Promoting successful returns and preventing re-incarceration;
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Criminal justice and sentencing reform;
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Healthcare and Human Services;
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and law enforcement policies and practices.
The Law Enforcement Working Group performed excellently, with at least seven recommendations, including reducing law enforcement interactions with people suffering from mental health crises, increasing awareness and participation in local police accountability committees, and making accessible making data on police misconduct available to the public.
“This is a very difficult topic to address and reach consensus on,” said Deborah Katz Levi, director of special litigation at the Attorney General’s Office and co-chair of the law enforcement working group. “I say these are our goals, but they are subject to change as we really build authentic consensus.”
Terri Green, director of social work at the public defender’s office, said a consistent problem remains: those in the Black community not receiving adequate and culturally sensitive services. An example is recognizing or being aware of trauma someone experienced as a child, teen or even adult, she said.
Green, co-chair of the health and human services working group, said one proposal is to create a “public health campaign.”
“How can we connect them to trusted, high-quality mental wellness services right now so that we can impact and reduce the number of Black men entering the criminal justice system?” she asked in an interview.
In addition to the attorney general’s offices and public defenders, another 38 government agencies and nonprofits are part of the partnership that launched in October.
Dartigue introduces former Judge Karen Friedman, who served for more than 20 years in Baltimore’s Orphans’ Court, District Court and Circuit Court before being named the Bureau’s director of criminal justice innovation, development and engagement more than two years ago of Justice from the Ministry of Justice. Justice help.
One of Friedman’s roles is to help bring resources and money to states for programs such as mental health, reentry services and substance abuse.
“I knew I could offer my knowledge to the extent there is funding available to make some of these fantastic ideas a reality,” Friedman, a member of the Prison, Prison and Detention Working Group, said in an interview.
“You can have the best ideas in the world. But if you can’t fund them, you’re back to square one,” she said. “So I’m very happy to be able to share information about what we have available.”
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