Prosecutors then struck deals to release the defendants on time served rather than retry their decades-old cases. Under the Unger ruling, Maryland’s highest court found jury instructions were misleading in many trials before 1980, and as a result prisoners across the state appealed their convictions. The Justice Policy Institute began delving into Maryland’s prison disparities after looking at the nearly 200 inmates released under a landmark 2012 court decision. In January, she announced that her office would stop prosecuting people for possessing marijuana regardless of the quantity or the person’s criminal history. In Baltimore, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has attempted to bring an end to marijuana arrests that have affected minority neighborhoods disproportionately. The law aims to expand rehabilitation programs for nonviolent drug dealers and users. The federal First Step Act freed dozens of people in a first wave this summer who were prosecuted in federal courts in Maryland. When Congress passed prison reform legislation last year, officials cited the racial disparities within the American prisons. “Every day, we seek to provide all within our system - regardless of charge, race, or other factors - the best possible programmatic opportunities that are driven by research, data-informed, and in the best interest of our communities and public safety,” he said. A statement from state prisons spokesman Mark Vernarelli pointed out that the decrease in the state’s prison population under Gov.
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