Mr. Fred E. Jordan
Commissioner,
Division of Correction
6776 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
Dear Mr. Jordan:
Thank you for speaking at the General Membership meeting of the NAACP on Tuesday, the 21st. To perhaps refresh your memory, after the meeting I introduced myself and let you know that I was not only affiliated with NAACP, but with Prisoners Aid, and the groups DETER, Inc. at the Penitentia- ry and the Legal Clinic Education Project, Inc. at the House of Correction. In addition, I keep in contact with dozens of other DOC inmates in all parts of the state on an individual basis.
As I promised at the meeting, I enclose a photocopy of the letter I wrote to the Sunpaper when Mr. Hopkins announced his termination as Commissioner. Events have since changed, but at the time, publicity was running generally negative and I felt, unfairly.
I also enclose a reprint of an editorial I recently submitted to the evening paper; I do not know if they are going to print it, but Robert Brantley used a few paragraphs from it when he introduced you at the meeting. I also enclose a summary of the meeting which I prepared for posting at the House of Correction and distribution at the Penitentiary.
You did mention during the meeting that DOC was having trouble filling Pre-Release beds. I find this very disturbing because I am well aware that about half of all DOC residents "max out" while in higher levels of security.
For this reason, I am going to mention two specific cases which I feel may be representative of a larger class of inmate. While I do not have all the facts for each, both of these inmates will be released in any event very shortly, either by parole or "max out", and would benefit from a Pre-Release experience.
The first case is Clarence M. C, #145-###, to my knowledge presently housed at MCTC. His charge was murder, but he was recommended to Pre-Release by the parole board. He is said to have been granted C1 status by the "point system", also got an override signed, and was actually transferred to a C1 facility. However, the very next day the transfer was revoked despite his "point" score.
In the Cowan situation, it is felt that a factor in the transfer back to medium was the publicity and uproar surrounding Patuxent at the time. In other words, it is possible that the ward- ens and classification counselors are now fearful in one way or another of approving transfers to the Pre-Release system.
The second case is James Henry W, #178-###, presently housed at MCIJ. According to my information, a great many DOC residents very near release are sent to MCIJ. Many people there, like Mr. Watson, will "max out" before the end of the year, without having had a parole hearing and without having ever been considered for C1.
One of the problems especially in regard to MCIJ, as I understand it, is that the classification counselors are few and far between, and it is difficult getting an appointment with one. In addition, in the case of Mr. Watson, an Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge had radically reduced his sentence, yet it took several weeks and a phone call from me to his classification counselor, to get the record corrected.
I do not want to urge too strongly the cases of these two individuals without knowing all the facts, but it is clear from these and others I have known that there are certainly enough C1 people now in the system if only their "points" were computed and acted upon before they "max out" or are paroled. I believe that of all the facilities in DOC, MCTC and MCIJ should be "targeted" first for these low-end classification problems.
I hope I haven't raised too many problems so early in your tenure. I was very appreciative that you, Mr. Rollins and others attended our meeting and allowed us to express some of our concerns.
If there is anything I could help you with or information you may need, please let me know. In that I have an extensive correspondence list, I tend to have a feel for the "pulse" of the system, and can spread news very quickly.
Sincerely,
Nancy Moran
nm