JUFJ is guided by the Jewish concept of tzelem elohim, which teaches that all people are created in the Divine image, with inherent and equal dignity and value. All people should be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. Black people, people experiencing homelessness or mental health crises, those in poverty, and young people facing marginalization are disproportionately targeted for criminalization and are treated with discrimination from their first contact with the system all the way through to their life after release. We support the prevention of unjust arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and incarceration; a fair parole process; and helping people return to their families and communities from a place of incarceration.

The 2023 legislative session has adjourned! We and our partners helped win $10M for the women’s prerelease facility over the next three fiscal years. Unfortunately, legislation to end the racist practice of automatically charging youth as adults did not move. To learn more, click here.

Who’s Impacted:

• Communities fighting marginalization, returning citizens, their families, their communities, and everyone who faces undue social and financial hardship as a result of their contact with the Maryland justice system. The racism and classism embedded in our court and prison systems disproportionately target Black and brown people and those unable to access health care, housing, and other commodities.

Key Committees:

• Senate Judicial Proceedings (JPR), Chair: Will Smith (Montgomery County)
• House Judiciary (JUD), Chair: Luke Clippinger (Baltimore City)
• Senate Budget and Taxation, Chair: Guy Guzzone (Howard County)
• House Appropriations, Chair: TBA

2023 Legislative Details:

• Youth Equity & Safety Act (The YES Act – SB93/HB96):
  • While Maryland has made progress on youth justice issues in recent years, the racist practice of automatically charging kids as adults must end. Current law requires youth as young as 14 to be automatically prosecuted in adult court for 33 different offenses.
  • Maryland sends more young people to adult court based on offense type than any other state per capita except for Alabama. We should join the 26 other states who have passed laws to treat kids like kids and limit the pathways into adult courts.
  • Charging kids ignores definitive research that adolescent brains are rapidly developing and have yet to reach full maturity. This practice also leads to significantly higher recidivism, as well as increased isolation and physical and sexual violence.
  • 87% of kids in Maryland charged as adults end up waived back down to the juvenile system, but the time spent in the adult system without rehabilitative services is damaging. Kids charged as adults have a 44% chance of being reincarcerated, compared to 17% for those charged as juveniles.
  • 81% of kids charged in adult court in Maryland are Black. Ending this practice would reduce not only violent crime, but also the criminalization and incarceration of Black youth, who are disproportionately targeted by our legal system.
  • Starting youth in juvenile court is backed by research and protects Black kids from discrimination.
  • Our efforts on this issue are undertaken as a member of the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition.
  • This bill was sponsored by Senator Jill Carter and Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield. Disappointingly, it did not get a committee vote in either chamber, and therefore did not move forward this year.

• Women’s Prerelease Facility Implementation (Budget Request):
  • Prerelease programs help people nearing the end of their prison sentences secure employment, education, housing, drug treatment, mental health services, and family support. There are multiple such facilities for men in Maryland, but none for women.
  • In 2020, the General Assembly passed the Gender Responsive Prerelease Act, sponsored by Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield and Senator Mary Washington. In 2021, we worked with our partners to override Governor Hogan’s veto and make it law. In 2022, we pushed to get the first part of the planning phase funded, and now we need to ensure it is fully implemented without additional delays.
  • $2 million was pre-authorized last year for the implementation of the project, but subsequently removed from the proposed FY24 budget. 
  • This session, we and our partners in the Women’s Prerelease Equity Coalition secured $10 million for the first phase of establishing a women’s prerelease facility ($5 million in the FY24 budget and a pre-authorization of $2.5 million for both FY25 and FY26). This investment is long-overdue and is indispensable to getting this important facility built, and up and running.

Key Partners: Maryland Youth Justice Coalition & Women’s Prerelease Equity Coalition, including: ACLU of Maryland, BRIDGE Maryland, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Maryland Justice Project, Out for Justice, and Maryland Office of the Public Defender

As we build on our organizing and advocacy from the past few years, JUFJ prioritizes deepening relationships with existing partners and coalitions and honoring the commitments we have made in past years. To maximize our effectiveness, we engage in a full scope of work on a limited number of campaigns, and impact other campaigns in a more limited way by submitting official JUFJ testimony and/or signing JUFJ’s name to a list of supporters.

For more information about our additional legislative positions, click here.

For more information about our agenda setting process for the Maryland 2023 state legislative session, click here.