February 06, 1998|By Ivan Penn | Ivan Penn,SUN STAFF
Clarence "Rudy" Revelle, who had been in jail for almost 20 months without a trial, pleaded guilty yesterday to burglary charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison with all but five suspended, the city state's attorney's office said yesterday.
Revelle was one of 10 inmates at the Baltimore City Detention Center who were identified as people whose statutory and constitutional rights might have been violated because the state had not tried them within six months after their arraignment as required by state law.
The issue came to light after an article in The Sun showed that 150 inmates at the detention center had been there for more than a year without a trial through December. The article has prompted a review of cases by criminal justice officials.
Baltimore Circuit Court officials said that they are reviewing court BTC records to examine the problems with lengthy jail stays. Officials said yesterday that they found 153 inmates who had been in the detention center a year or more as of Dec. 12.
Circuit Judge Joseph P. McCurdy, who oversees the Circuit Court's criminal docket, said some of the 153 are in jail for serious crimes and some are there for petty crimes. Some serious crimes are the jurisdiction of the federal court, and some of the petty crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the District Court.
The issue of lengthy jail stays has been of concern to state legislators because of crowding at the city detention center, which could force the state to build another jail.
A Maryland regulation, known as the Hicks Rule, requires the state to try a defendant within the six-month period or risk having the case dismissed. The state can exceed the six-month period if the defendant waives the right to be tried within six months or the court finds "good cause" to postpone the case.
Revelle never waived his Hicks rights. As part of his sentence, Revelle, who was accused of burglarizing the Value Village Thrift Store in the 5000 block of York Road in Baltimore, also was ordered to pay $450 restitution.
The same plea agreement was offered to Revelle in July, but he refused and insisted he was innocent.
Pub Date: 2/06/98
