Jail

One of the most poignant expressions is the one that states that you can glean the true measure of a man or woman by how they interact with someone who can do nothing, or give nothing, to that person in return. Enter Dan Rodricks who was spot-on in his assessment of Gov. Martin O'Malley ("Corrections never an O'Malley priority," May 2). Mr. Rodricks wrote that the governor has turned his back on the reforms to the corrections system because it will garner him zero votes were he to seek higher office.

General Assembly leaders say a joint committee of top legislators will hear from corrections officials about alleged corruption at the Baltimore City Detention Center. The briefing, to be held in June, replaces a House Judiciary Committee hearing that had been scheduled for next week. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch announced the joint public briefing of the Legislative Policy Committee by top corrections officials in June. Alexandra Hughes, a spokeswoman for the speaker, said the exact date of the briefing is expected to be announced next week.

I could not agree more with The Sun's editorial regarding Gov. Martin O'Malley and corruption in the city jail ("Spinning corruption," May 1). Governor O'Malley is running for higher office and is not taking responsibility for the corrections system corruption that has been going on for decades. Heads should roll and replacements be made, rather than allowing the current "leadership" to fix the system that is broken and needs rebuilding. Allowing the current secretary to continue in office sends the message that a Band-Aid is being placed on cancer.

UPDATE: O'Malley's spokeswoman, Raquel Guillory, said late Wednesday that the governor had a meeting with the mayor and discussed "the history of the case and the formation of the task force. " O'Malley thanked Rawlings-Blake for the city's participation on the Maryland Prison Task Force, which "made the case with state and federal partners," Guillory said. She added that the governor asked for the city's "continued  participation as we work to expand this beach-head and follow this case as far and high as it goes.

Regarding your recent blurb about Family Fun Day, I noted the headline was a gloss on one of Gilbert & Sullivan's most memorable songs from the "Pirates of Penzance" ("This day, a policeman's lot was a happy one," April 29). That charming ditty concludes with the refrain "When constabulary duty's to be done, to be done, a policeman's lot is not a happy one!" "Pirates," which debuted in the U.S. in New York City on Dec. 31, 1879, has always been a favorite on this side of the pond - so much so that by the 1920s its chorus, "Come, friends, who plow the sea," had acquired new, rather scurrilous lyrics that are still well known.

Gov. Martin O'Malley on Tuesday called last week's indictments of 25 inmates and correctional officers at the Baltimore City Detention Center "a very positive development" in the state's fight to dismantle violent gangs in state prisons. A day after returning from a weeklong trade mission to Israel, the governor told a State House news conference that he is standing firmly behind Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Gary D. Maynard in the wake of a federal probe that found widespread corruption and smuggling at the city jail.

As critics of Martin O'Malley sensed a new political vulnerability, the governor insisted Tuesday that last week's indictment of inmates and correctional officers at the Baltimore City Detention Center was "a positive achievement" in Maryland's fight against violent gangs. A day after returning from a weeklong trade mission to Israel, O'Malley said that the state instigated and acted as a full partner in the federal investigation that found widespread corruption and smuggling at the city jail.

When Laura Neuman took over John Leopold's position as Anne Arundel County executive, her first order of business was to fire his existing staff, saying his proven corruption could have only existed through the connivance of those around him. That was very insightful on her part, but doesn't the same reasoning apply to the corruption uncovered at the Baltimore City Detention Center ("Corruption alleged at jail," April 24)? How could all of this have gone on for so long unless many people deliberately turned their backs to what was happening?

Marilyn J. Mosby, a former Baltimore assistant state's attorney and the wife of City Councilman Nick Mosby, told The Sun that she plans to run for Baltimore state's attorney next year. Mosby's confirmation of her intention to run in 2014 came as she alleged that the city prosecutors' office is partly to blame for the alleged corruption scandal unfolding at the city jail involving the Black Guerilla Family gang. Federal prosecutors said last week that an inmate named Tavon White awaiting charges for attempted murder, who has been in the jail since 2009, turned the facility into his own fiefdom, impregnating corrections officers and running a lucrative drug organization.

Apparently Tavon White, the leader of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang at the Baltimore City Detention Center, has been running the prison for some time ("Corruption alleged at jail," April 24). To connect the dots between violent crime, simply follow the money - it leads to the group's drug trafficking. Power, and the money that generates it, drive illegal businesses. Excitement, money and power are pumped up on sound systems and flat screen TVs across the country. That makes it sexy to sell and use drugs and even to be a gang member.