When Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. ran for the state's top job four years ago, he promised broad criminal justice reforms, including fixing Maryland's long-troubled juvenile justice system.
Stepping away from the traditional image of Republican candidates who push law-and-order agendas and harsh prison terms, Ehrlich spoke of attacking the motivation behind much of Maryland crime - treatment for drug addiction, particularly for nonviolent offenders.
"The whole example of addiction, offense, incarceration, continued addiction and re-offense is something we have to break," the governor said during a recent debate, summarizing his approach to criminal justice.
But as Ehrlich's first term in office draws to a close, some of those who welcomed the call for changes say that his performance has been mixed, at best, and that the bold promises he made have gone largely unfulfilled.
He has closed most of the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School and reduced the Cheltenham Youth Center - two of the state's most troubled juvenile justice facilities - while pushing expanded rehabilitation and drug treatment for both youths and adults.
Yet the state's adult prisons and juvenile justice system clearly have created their share of political headaches for Ehrlich.
This year, two correctional officers were killed by inmates while on duty - the first since 1984. And inmate violence over the past three years has led to severe injury or, in some cases, death for dozens of prisoners in the state's prisons and jails.
The violence escalated during an exodus of veteran wardens and staff, who either quit or were forced out of their jobs. Correctional officers complained repeatedly that prisons were understaffed and unsafe.
"They've done a terrible job," said Ron Bailey, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92, the bargaining agent for corrections workers. The union endorsed Ehrlich's opponent for next month's election.
The problems in the prison system led to the ouster of state prisons chief Frank C. Sizer Jr. in August, but Ehrlich balked at calls to replace Sizer's boss, Mary Ann Saar, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and her top deputy, Mary Livers.
Meanwhile, state monitors and federal authorities issued damning reports about conditions inside juvenile detention facilities, pointing to out-of-control violence, inadequate staffing, a lack of programs and other problems.
