Rights of People in Prisons and Jails

The ACLU of Maryland is dedicated to helping people who are incarcerated and their families in the struggle to ensure that their Constitutional rights are protected. Our guiding principles are that the Constitution does not cease to exist at the prison gate and that the Constitution must protect every person’s dignity, safety and humanity.

prisoners rights

Take the politics out of parole in Maryland

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Of the 2,100 people serving parole-eligible life sentences in Maryland, more than 340 of them are in or crimes committed when they were 17 or younger. They were sentenced with the understanding that if they proved themselves genuinely rehabilitated they would be paroled. But, in fact, they are now more likely to die in prison, often after serving many more decades than anyone expected, than they are to be paroled.

Why? Because Maryland's system is one of only three in the country where the Governor must personally approve parole for lifers, a process that has become highly politicized.


Etta Myers
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Support reform of #Maryland's process for parole-eligible life sentences.

The Latest

Press Release
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Maryland Enacts Second Look Act, Offering a Path to Reconsider Long Prison Sentences

Maryland officially enacted the Second Look Act (HB 853), an important step to giving incarcerated individuals sentenced as emerging adults a meaningful opportunity to seek sentence modification after demonstrating their rehabilitation and transformation.
Press Release
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Advocates Celebrate Passage of Second Look Act, Urge Continued Push for Justice

After years of tireless advocacy by families, formerly incarcerated people, and community leaders, the Maryland General Assembly has passed the Second Look Act (HB 853), providing a long-overdue pathway for sentence reconsideration grounded in rehabilitation, not retribution.
Press Release
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ACLU of Maryland and Advocates Urge Senate to Pass the Second Look Act (HB 853)

The ACLU of Maryland is calling on state legislators to vote in favor of the Maryland Second Look Act (HB 853)
News & Commentary
Group of Second Look advocates in the halls of Maryland Congress

A Second Look at Extreme Sentences Saves Lives and Strengthens Communities

Time is running out. We cannot wait another year to pass the Maryland Second Look Act.
Court Case
Apr 07, 2020

Petition for Extraordinary Writ (COVID-19)

Court Case
Apr 06, 2016

MRJI v. Hogan