October 21, 2024
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has ruled that the State of Maryland is obligated to make major changes to Baltimore jails to comply with a 2016 settlement agreement reached in a class-action suit on behalf of detainees at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center (BCBIC). This marks the third time that the court has had to extend the agreement because of the state’s persistent failure to come into compliance with the agreement and make necessary improvements to its facilities. PJC Legal Director Debra Gardner said, “A few days in BCBIC can literally be life-threatening from lack of adequate health care alone. The situation is intolerable. We applaud the Court for making clear the state cannot just walk away. Now the state needs to focus its resources on health care and not on fighting folks in dire need of it.” The PJC represents the detainees with the ACLU National Prison Project and Locke Lord. Read more about the case here.
