By Yanet Amanuel
Maryland’s prison system has some of the worst racial disparities in the nation – outpacing even Mississippi and Alabama. According to the Sentencing Project, 82 percent of Black Marylanders serving life sentences were under 25 at the time of their offense, the highest rate in the nation.
But, despite evidence of systemic injustice and overwhelming support for reform, critical solutions remain stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.
The Maryland Second Look Act (HB 853/SB 291) offers a research-based remedy to mass incarceration and racial disparities in our state’s prison system. The bill would allow people who have served at least 20 years to petition the court for a sentence reduction based on their rehabilitation. The Second Look Act empowers judges to consider how people have grown during their time in prison, their history, any racial bias in sentencing, and many other factors, to decide whether to adjust their sentences appropriately. That could mean a second chance for hundreds of Marylanders who have earned it.
The issue is so urgent, the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland has made it a priority – and the ACLU of Maryland, the Second Look Coalition, and other criminal justice advocates are fiercely advocating for the bill.
But the Second Chance Act is being blocked – not by lack of will or support, but by political obstruction by House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger (D-District 46).
The Maryland Second Look Act would apply to everyone, regardless of age, conviction, or sentence – ensuring fairness for every case. That’s important because so much about our prison system is deeply unfair.
Many people serving extreme sentences were convicted and sentenced under
Maryland’s outdated “felony murder” rule. Under this rule, a person can be sentenced to life simply because they were present when a fatality occurred during a felony crime, such as a robbery – even if they didn’t kill anyone or handle a firearm. Those serving extreme sentences alsoat includes criminalized survivors of domestic or intimate partner violence who were forced to participate in crimes by their abusers or received harsh sentences for defending themselves
Maryland sentencing is also highly inconsistent, often determined by outside factors like where the case was tried or the political climate at the time. In fact, simply choosing to exercise the right to a trial can lead to a harsher punishment than accepting a plea deal: the Maryland Office of the Public Defender found in a recent survey that 38 percent of respondents serving life without parole reported that they were initially offered lesser plea deals.
Unlike the death penalty, abolished in 2013, Maryland does not have specific criteria for imposing life without parole (LWOP). Instead, our system leaves the decision entirely up to prosecutors – which leads to severe jurisdictional disparities. Baltimore County, for example, imposes LWOP at a far higher rate than other jurisdictions.
The Second Look Act would offer a solution by ensuring that true rehabilitation – not politics or zip code – determines a person’s chances for release.
Last year, the Maryland Second Look Act passed the Senate with broad support. This year, 44 House co-sponsors have joined the effort, reflecting growing momentum from crime victims, faith leaders, attorneys, state’s attorneys from Baltimore City and Prince George’s County, and voters in Maryland and across the country. A recent survey showed that 78 percent of voters across party lines support second look policies and recognize the need to reduce excessive incarceration. Research confirms that people released after long sentences are among the least likely to reoffend – proving that meaningful rehabilitation should not be ignored.
Still, Del. Luke Clippinger (District 46), a full-time prosecutor and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, refuses to let the bill move forward, instead insisting to gut the bill’s most effective provisions – or worse, leaving it to die in committee like too many other straightforward, widely supported justice reform proposals.
For example, a simple fix to an existing law removing the governor from the medical parole process, ensuring that terminally ill people aren’t left to die behind bars, has been repeatedly stalled in committee. Another blocked proposal would prevent prosecutors from using rap lyrics and creative expression as evidence in criminal trials, a practice fraught with racial bias and violations of the First Amendment.
With crossover week quickly approaching and an election year looming, we cannot let this legislative obstruction continue. Maryland has its first Black governor, a Democratic supermajority, and the largest Black caucus in the nation – yet Black communities continue to be left behind.
We urge Chairman Clippinger to bring the Second Look Act up for a committee vote now and join his colleagues in supporting fairness and racial justice. The House Judiciary Committee should not be where justice dies. It’s time for Maryland lawmakers to prioritize the will of the people.