Prisoners' Rights
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.
Take the politics out of parole in Maryland
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. These men and women 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.
Support reform of #Maryland's process for parole-eligible life sentences.
The Latest
VICTORY! MARYLAND REPEALS ITS BROKEN DEATH PENALTY SYSTEM
October 11, 2017The Cruel and Archaic Practice of “Restrictive” Confinement
March 14, 2019Solitary confinement: devastating for adults, worse for children
January 14, 2019“Juvenile Lifers” Challenge Constitutionality of Statute Granting...
June 28, 2018ACLU Calls On Prison System To Reverse Rule Severely Limiting...
May 31, 2018Federal Court Clears Way for Juvenile Lifers' Challenge to Maryland...
February 6, 2017Hearing in juvenile life sentences case
January 4, 2017Report Outlines the Consequences of Maryland's Diversion Programs...
October 11, 2016