News & Commentary

At the core of this travesty is excessively harsh crime policies, which when paired with racially biased policing result in mass incarceration of people of color.African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, while Latinos comprise about 20% of all inmates. In 1980, there were about 40,000 people in American jails and prisons for drug crimes. Today, there are almost 500,000.The ACLU of Maryland advocates for humane and sensible policies that respect basic rights, seek to end racial profiling and make the best use of limited resources to help keep us safe.And then join the conversation by attending one or more of our upcoming events:

A few weeks ago, we highlighted the inspiring story of tenth-grader Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez on our blog.

No group of people can function as part of a community if they are excluded from representation. And nobody understands that better than people like Edward Taylor, former Wicomico County Council Member.

Two weeks ago, if you told 15 year-old Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez that artists such as Ricky Martin and Calle 13 would be tweeting about her right to free speech - she would never have believed it.

Today, the ACLU of Maryland is highlighting an article from the Maryland Daily Record that gives a much-needed spotlight on legislation moving quickly through the General Assembly that is an assault on the constitutional due process rights of the poor and minorities. House Bill 153 would deny the constitutional right to representation by the Office of the Public Defender to an indigent individual after the conclusion of the bail hearing, forcing the OPD to go through the unnecessary and wasteful process of re-qualifying someone. 

Originally published as an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun

Originally posted at Moving Maryland Forward Network