Hundreds of inmates in Maryland’s local jails never receive a parole hearing before they are released, according to officials. Out of roughly 2,200 scheduled parole hearings last year, about one-third of inmates never showed because they had been released or waived their right to parole, according to Maryland Parole Commission Chairman David Blumberg.
| Recidivism rate for inmates who: |
| Were released on parole: 21.5 percent |
| Were refused parole: 50 percent |
| Waived parole: 60 percent |
| *According to David Blumberg, chairman of the Maryland Parole Commission |
Blumberg says the commission is sometimes unaware that a locally jailed offender has even been detained.
“At the [state] department of corrections, as soon as an offender walks through the door a file is made [on that person],” Blumberg told members of the House Judiciary Committee at recent hearing. “With the locals, there is nothing to dump all of this information into.”
Locally jailed inmates may qualify for parole after serving a quarter of their sentence, which can run as long as 18 months. Inmates who do not want to pay the $40 monthly fee for parole, or who can’t get a hearing until late in their sentence, may waive their right to supervised leave.
Supervising an offender on parole costs the state roughly $4 a day, compared with housing that offender for $91 a day, according to fiscal 2009 budget information.
The state prison files inmate records electronically into a central system, which the Division of Parole and Probation taps to obtain a list of inmates eligible for parole.
But the local jails have no such system — parole officials are responsible for obtaining inmate information from each individual jurisdiction.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph F. Vallario said the system needs immediate reform.
“This law has been grossly overlooked,” said Vallario, D-Calvert and Prince George’s counties. “People are in jail that have never gotten parole hearings. … I cannot imagine that happening.”
Several local jails have begun sending weekly or monthly lists of inmates’ names and information to help out the parole commission. But many jurisdictions are failing to communicate, according to Blumberg.
Carroll County Detention Center Warden George Hardinger said he has worked overtime to provide parole officials with all of his inmates’ information — but not all jurisdictions have the resources for that kind of work.
“It is not the responsibility of the local jurisdiction to tell [inmates] what their parole eligibility is,” he said, pointing to state law. “We’re not whiners and we’re not saying we don’t want to do it … but folks, there is a breaking point.”
