About 5,000 people sit in prison in Maryland each year for nonviolent drug offenses.
State Sen. Lisa Gladden says she thinks that?s a waste and is sponsoring bills to help nonviolent offenders avoid prison and get jobs once they?re back in the community.
“Ninety percent [of incarcerated people] get out eventually, and we have to do something with them,” Gladden, a Baltimore City Democrat, told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Wednesday.
One of Gladden?s bills, the Smart on Crime Act, has gained support from a coalition of groups.
“Each year, Maryland spends hundreds of millions of dollars incarcerating people convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses,” said LaWanda Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Justice Policy Institute. “Maryland?s scarce prison resources should not be wasted.”
The Smart on Crime Act would modify mandatory minimum sentencing for low-level drug users, allowing judges to use their discretion when sentencing individuals who are arrested with small quantities of drugs, Johnson said. It would not affect major dealers, she added.
Another Gladden bill would prohibit state agencies that issue occupational licenses from refusing to license a person based solely on a previous nonviolent conviction.
George Alexander, the New York State Parole chairman, testified in favor of the bill, saying jobs for inmates help keep Maryland?s citizens safe.
But Ann Tyminski, speaking for Maryland?s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said the bill would undercut licensing boards? authority to independently authorize speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and other individuals.
