Maryland DA Announces New Justice Collaborative to Address Overincarceration of Black People

Facing the worst incarceration rate of Black people in the country (71 percent), Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Wednesday that his office will be joining forces with the state’s public defender’s office in a new collaborative designed to tackle the overincarceration of Black Marylanders, Darcy Costello reports for the Baltimore Sun.

The Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative will include dozens of criminal justice system agencies and advocacy organizations and will examine existing laws, policies and practices, as well as probe biases in the system. The collaborative will divide itself into several committees, including ones focused on education and workforce development, on prison or jail reform, on juvenile justice reform, on criminal law and sentencing reform, on law enforcement practices and on behavioral health and human services.