August 17th, 2024 by WCBC Radio
In response to an August 15, 2024 article by the Baltimore Banner entitled “Why some prosecutors are handing over case data to researchers and others aren’t”, Attorney General Brown issued the following statement:
“I commend the decisions made by a bi-partisan group of state’s attorneys in Maryland to share their case data with academic researchers. Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy was the first to launch a project and the state’s attorneys in Frederick County, Charles County and Baltimore City quickly followed suit.
Only by tracking case data on arrests, convictions, charges, and other key outcomes with a breakdown by race and gender will we truly understand and be able to eradicate longstanding and pervasive inequities from our criminal justice system. Publishing these findings will ensure that those of us who are responsible for making decisions in our criminal system are held accountable for upholding their duty to promote justice and equality for all.
The efforts by these state’s attorneys are consistent with my motivation to launch the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) in partnership with the Office of the Public Defender last October. The mission of the MEJC is to address the crisis of mass incarceration and the racial disparities in Maryland’s prison population. Individual case data that can be gathered from state’s attorney’s offices is critical in addressing this crisis and disparities.
Marylanders should be proud to see these state’s attorneys leading from the front. Their actions are both innovative and courageous. I encourage all state’s attorney’s offices across Maryland to follow the same path and engage in the same level of data analysis. I plan to initiate the same type of valuable partnership in research, as well. I believe it is imperative because only then will Marylanders have the truest picture of our criminal justice system, and we can all better understand and make better decisions about how to continue making Maryland a fairer and more equitable home for all.”
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