Criminal Justice System

E ach year, as many people are released from Maryland's prisons as are employed at the Johns Hopkins medical complex in East Baltimore. And each year, the Johns Hopkins Hospital helps provide meaningful futures for some of these ex-prisoners by offering them new hope in the form of jobs. Studies have shown that former prisoners' ability to find and maintain gainful employment is crucial to their successful return to their families, communities and society. Without good, steady jobs, many return to illegal activities, fueling an unacceptable recidivism rate and eroding public safety.

Longtime Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee is retiring from the position he's held for 25 years to become a member of the state's Parole Commission. His appointment was announced Wednesday by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Weathersbee, 69, a prosecutor for four decades, said he will “retire” June 11, and start on the commission the next day amid “mixed emotions.” “I've got an opportunity to do something else and stay kind of in the field, so I am going to take it,” said Weathersbee, a Democrat.

I applaud Sen. Ben Cardin's efforts to end racial profiling: Nothing is more divisive than to bring an "us against them" mentality into law enforcement ("Candidates make final push before Tuesday," April 2). What could be more demoralizing and dehumanizing than being judged by the color of your skin or the clothes you wear? Racial profiling, by definition, is incompatible with the guarantee of equal protection under the law contained in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Yet, many of the same people who claim to be strict constructionists with regard to the Constitution are in favor of denigrating one of its most basic tenets.

The Boston Marathon bombing has brought out the xenophobes. Often when America suffers some large, inexplicable tragedy, we want to blame "foreigners" and look for ways to fortify ourselves against them. It's more reassuring to believe that an evil lies outside our borders -- in "them" -- than to face the possibility that it's randomly among us. And like the communist scare before it, the so-called "war on terror" -- a war without end -- offers a convenient means of targeting the source as a foreign menace bent on destroying us. Let's blame immigrants, say the xenophobes.

Homicide editorial should have included ways to prevent crimeThe editorial "Getting away with murder" (Feb. 14) states: "Much of the blame for Baltimore's inability to address its prolonged murder crisis lies in the breakdown of the normal defenses put into place to protect a city's residents: police, prosecutors, courts and corrections institutions."While I agree that changes are necessary (and they are occurring) within the city's justice system, I disagree with the editorial because it suggests that institutional problems within the criminal justice system are directly related to the city's high homicide rate.

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Janet Reno said yesterday that in the aftermath of the O. J. Simpson verdict she will recommit herself to make the criminal justice system "as fair as I can and make it appear to be fair."While saying that "one jury verdict should not reflect on a whole system," Ms. Reno remarked on the debate raging across the nation about the fairness of the verdict and the factors underlying it.Her comments are the closest the nation's chief law enforcement officer has come to directly commenting on the Simpson trial, which captured the attention of the nation, but, she insisted repeatedly in recent weeks, not hers.

It is well documented that African-American and Hispanic men are arrested, convicted and jailed at far higher rates than whites, and that once they enter the prison system they usually serve longer terms as well. That's why the NAACP and the Maryland ACLU among others were right to ask the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last week to take another look at the systematic racial disparities in the state's criminal justice system. According to the Maryland Division of Corrections, 72 percent of the inmates in Maryland prisons are black, even though blacks make up only 29.4 percent of the population.

It is far too early to celebrate a turnaround in Baltimore City's troubled criminal-justice system.Substantial progress has been made toward eliminating the most pressing emergencies. But while the Circuit Court and the Central Booking and Intake Center are no longer in crisis, the system as a whole still does not function smoothly or effectively. Far too often, a sense of urgency and shared mission are lacking.Stephen E. Harris, who heads the state public defender's office, underscored this reality in a recent complaint to Keith E. Mathews, administrative judge of the city District Court.

A team of three Sun journalists has won a National Journalism Award for public service reporting in 2002. Jim Haner, John B. O'Donnell and Kimberly A.C. Wilson won first place for "Justice Undone," a three-part investigative series published in the fall that revealed serious flaws in Baltimore's criminal justice system. Another staff member, Ann LoLordo, was a finalist for editorial writing in the contest, sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation. After examining 1,449 homicides that occurred between 1997 and 2001, the reporters discovered that only 32 percent ended in murder convictions.

AT LEAST three lawyers intend to challenge State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy's re-election bid next year. And it won't likely stop there. In the coming months, a number of other opponents are likely to appear. This is good for Baltimore City's troubled criminal justice system. Part of the reason the prosecutor's office has developed so many problems is that incumbents have not faced serious challenges in the past two decades. Worse yet, two of the most recent state's attorneys rose to their posts without initial scrutiny by voters.

Those of us who appear regularly in the North Avenue courthouse, where Baltimore City's domestic violence cases are heard, were already aware of the "spike" in domestic violence homicides noted recently by The Sun. We knew that some of those women had asked for the legal system's protection, and that some had not received it. But some of us also knew that even if they had gotten protective orders, or pressed charges, or participated in prosecution, those...

When Harford County's chief prosecutor, State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly, reached a plea agreement with a repeat-offending burglar that gave the 28-year-old admitted drug abuser 28 years to serve in prison, there was a lot to like about the deal. Asked about the plea agreement, Cassilly said: "If you're going to break into houses to steal stuff for your drug problem, we're going to ask for jail time. If you have a history of breaking into people's houses, we're going to ask for serious jail time.

It is well documented that African-American and Hispanic men are arrested, convicted and jailed at far higher rates than whites, and that once they enter the prison system they usually serve longer terms as well. That's why the NAACP and the Maryland ACLU among others were right to ask the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last week to take another look at the systematic racial disparities in the state's criminal justice system. According to the Maryland Division of Corrections, 72 percent of the inmates in Maryland prisons are black, even though blacks make up only 29.4 percent of the population.

I applaud Sen. Ben Cardin's efforts to end racial profiling: Nothing is more divisive than to bring an "us against them" mentality into law enforcement ("Candidates make final push before Tuesday," April 2). What could be more demoralizing and dehumanizing than being judged by the color of your skin or the clothes you wear? Racial profiling, by definition, is incompatible with the guarantee of equal protection under the law contained in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Yet, many of the same people who claim to be strict constructionists with regard to the Constitution are in favor of denigrating one of its most basic tenets.

It is difficult to describe my feelings on reading about the horrific story years of violence and sexual abuse of Catholic school children at the hands of John Merzbacher ("Prepared to make their voices heard," April 29). That there could be any chance of Mr. Merzbacher being released back into the community is hard to imagine. I don't believe there is often much "justice" in our country's criminal justice system, but this has to be one of the most blatant examples of how the victims seem to bear the brunt of the crime and the perpetrators continue to be shown mercy and granted rights they should not have.

It is all too common in city courts to see witnesses reluctant to testify, even under threat of imprisonment, or developing amnesia over what had happened in front of them. But this week, it was not a bystander but the alleged victim himself who clearly wanted to be anywhere but the courtroom where prosecutors were trying to get justice for him. As The Baltimore Sun's Tricia Bishop reported, Corey Ausby basically shut down on the stand, a tearful 16-year-old wanting nothing to do with the case against two brothers he accused of beating him while they were on a neighborhood watch patrol in Park Heights.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops called yesterday for sweeping reforms in the nation's criminal justice system, rejecting the increasing use of mandatory sentences and the death penalty and advocating an approach that includes compassion for crime victims and rehabilitation for criminals. The bishops also approved statements during their annual fall meeting denouncing mistreatment and rejection of immigrants and encouraging Catholics to welcome them into their parishes, and a sharply worded critique of the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year overturning a Nebraska law prohibiting a controversial abortion procedure.

NOT CONTENT with stop-gap measures, the Maryland General Assembly wants to revamp Baltimore's malfunctioning criminal-justice system. Legislators have frozen $17.8 million until they are satisfied that comprehensive reform is under way. To free that money, Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell must submit by Oct. 1 a blueprint to overhaul the city's problematic prosecution and court practices."

The arrest of George Zimmerman on charges of second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin does not mean that justice has been done. But it does provide the opportunity for justice - for a full presentation of the facts before a judge and impartial jury. It was the denial of that opportunity by local officials in Sanford, Fla., who chose not to arrest Mr. Zimmerman immediately after the shooting six weeks ago, that had so inflamed the nation. It led to inevitable questions about whether race was a factor in how the case was handled - Trayvon was black, and Mr. Zimmerman is white and Hispanic - and to outrage at the notion that a young man could be killed without anyone being forced to publicly account for it. Now the Sanford community and the entire nation can get answers about what happened that day, and that is what our criminal justice system is supposed to do. Angela B. Corey, a special prosecutor brought in from Jacksonville to handle the case, said Wednesday evening that her decision to bring charges was not based on public pressure but on the evidence she had gathered.

The recent article about the expansion into Baltimore of the Department of Homeland Security's program to crackdown on illegal immigrants ("Immigrants, city fear divide over status checks," Feb. 26) makes clear the need for real immigration reform. Programs such as Secure Communities, regardless of aim, are succeeding in spreading fear and division and in threatening the stability of the family. Moreover, the program is altering the relationship between federal immigration enforcement and local law enforcement.