words by charles brooks
UPDATE as of 3/16/25: The bill was ultimately advanced in the House for a final vote, which is expected to occur in the coming days before moving to the Senate
There’s an opportunity in 2025 for Maryland state lawmakers to address the state’s mass incarceration and sentencing policies with the Maryland Second Look Act.
The proposed measure creates a pathway for men and women who served twenty plus years in prison to petition the court to have a judge review their sentence for possible reduction. The proposed measure is sponsored by State Senator Charles E. Sydnor, III, and House Delegate Cheryl E. Pasteur. The proposal requires a comprehensive evaluation process to prove to the court they no longer pose a threat to society. The rigorous process allows the judge to measure their capacity to change, and as a result the proposed legislation cannot be viewed as a, “get out of jail free card”.
How did we get here?
The proposed legislation directs attention to data revealing a startling portrait of Maryland’s prison population. For one, Maryland leads the nation incarcerating the highest percentage of Black people - 72% and in sentencing young Black men to the longest prison terms.
Consider former Governor Parris N. Glendening (D), who back in 1995 infamously said, “A life sentence means life,” which essentially abolished any means to parole for those with life sentences. While the governor was removed from the parole process by the state legislature in 2021, it is not enough to make up for decades of wrongful denials. Thirty years later, 1,132 people are serving 50 years or more, 2,072 serving life with parole and 424 are serving life without parole sentences, making up 23% of the total prison population serving these extreme sentences.
What did we learn?
The Judicial Proceedings (Senate/SB 291) and Judiciary (House/HB 853) Committees held two hearings of informed, and spirited testimony that was at times, wrought with emotion from both supporters and opponents.
They heard testimony from several of the formerly incarcerated who shared stories of their personal journey to redemption. Committee members also heard about their mission to positively impact their community. Their work with conflict resolution. Mentoring. Substance abuse. Gangs.
Their testimony, along with the recidivism data should dispel the notion of returning to a life of crime after serving over twenty years in prison.
The state lawmakers also heard from the victims of serious crime who are in support of Second Look legislation. In addition, key testimony was heard from advocates, attorneys, and criminal justice professionals who outlined the racial disparities in the prison system, the judicial limitations of parole and sentence review, the consequences of incarcerating people to long sentences, and the restorative practices taking place between prisoners and the victims.
Opposing the proposed Second Look legislation were Mr. Kurt Wolfgang, Executive Director of the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center and the State’s Attorney for Baltimore County, Scott D. Shellenberger. Arguing on behalf of the victims, they pointed to the required “five year waiting period”.
If the court denies a petition for a reduced sentence, there’s a five year waiting period before another petition can be brought again to the court. But there’s a limit imposed of three petitions for sentence reduction.
Mr. Wolfgang and Mr. Shellenberger highlighted the traumatic experience that would be revisited every five years by the victims, reopening unhealed wounds and revictimizing them. In their testimony, they presented anecdotal cases to both committees of the most heinous and brutal crimes to provoke an emotional reaction from committee members.
The committee also heard from several family members who lost loved ones to criminal activity, describing their trauma as “a nightmare” and “absolute purgatory”. Mr. Wolfgang told the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee, “…to put them through more than what they have already gone through is wrong.”
Where do we go from here
The Maryland Second Look Act is framed as sentence reform versus victims rights while overlooking the critical role of restorative practices. Across the country as well as in Maryland, restorative practices are used to promote healing while aligning victims rights with prisoner rehabilitation. There’s a greater awareness today of how it helps to reconcile the fragile balance between meaningful sentence reform and recognizing the victims.
This years’ 2025 legislative session provides another opportunity for Maryland lawmakers to pass meaningful sentence reform. Another opportunity to reconcile redemption, and one’s capacity to transform their life for the good to the trauma and emotional suffering experienced by the victims of the crime. There is widespread support for this legislation including the State Attorney’s for Prince George’s County and Baltimore City.
There’s a sense of urgency as momentum picks up across the nation as lawmakers in New York, Michigan and Nevada are also looking at passing Second Look legislation. Maryland could join the 12 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government who passed similar sentencing reforms in recent years.
The spotlight is now on the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Delegate Luke Clippinger, and Chair of the Senate JPR Committee, Will Smith, to move this critical legislation out of committee.
Illustration credit: Veronica Martinez, Injustice Watch
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