Latest news with #ShellyHettleman
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate panel recommends approval of two medical parole measures
(Photo by Getty images) The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee recommended approval Wednesday of two bills that would reform the parole process for medical and geriatric parole petitions. It appears to be the first time Senate Bill 181 has made it out of committee, after four years of trying. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County), would give long-serving or ill inmates a chance to take their case directly to the state's Parole Commission. The bill originally called for incarcerated individuals who were 60 years old and had spent at least 15 years in prison to seek parole and, if turned down, they could reapply every two years. The committee Wednesday raised the age to 65, with 20 years incarcerated, and a five-year pause between petitions. But another hearing could be sooner 'if the commission determines that extraordinary and compelling circumstances justify the subsequent parole hearing.' The committee also amended the geriatric inmate portion of the bill to include someone with a condition that 'substantially diminishes the ability … to provide self-care.' That and a few other phrases mirror federal law when it comes to compassionate release. The bill is supported by the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown. Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the committee, said a work group with senators, members of the Public Defender's Office and state's attorneys agreed on the amendments. 'Everyone walked away in an agreement and has blessed off on this,' he said. 'I think it's amazing.' 'Miracles do happen,' said Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George's). Muse and Smith added themselves as co-sponsors of the bill, along with Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County and Carroll) and Democratic Sens. Sara Love of Montgomery, Charles Sydnor III of Baltimore County, Nick Charles of Prince George's and Shaneka Henson of Anne Arundel. Sen. Mary-Dulany James (D-Harford) was the only committee member to vote against the amendments. Muse sponsored the second bill, Senate Bill 648, long sponsored by former Sen. Jill P. Carter. The bill would remove the governor from the process of approving parolee for a geriatric or medical parole release. The legislature had approved removing the governor from the parole process four years ago, but Carter said last year that an oversight at the allowed the governor to remain a part of the process for medical parole. This year's measure would let the Parole Commission to decide whether a person can be released whose poor health condition pose no 'danger to society.' As a condition of release, the commission may require that person to be placed in a hospital, hospice or other housing. Both measures are scheduled to be read on the Senate floor next week.
CBS News
25-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Maryland behavioral health advocates raise concerns about proposed $116 million in funding cuts
Behavioral health advocates in Maryland are voicing concerns about the possible impact of a $116 million budget cut included in Gov. Wes Moore's FY2026 budget. During a news conference Tuesday, advocates are expected to call on state leaders to restore the funds, arguing that the cuts would impact young residents. Among the group of advocates are Maryland Senator Shelly Hettleman, Adrienne Breidenstine, Vice President of Policy and Communications at the Behavioral Health System Baltimore and Dan Martin, the Senior Director of Public Policy at the Mental Health Association of Maryland. The group says the budget cuts would impact behavioral healthcare at every level, from screening and early intervention to treatment and crisis services. Advocates are urging lawmakers to restore funding for Maryland's 988 helpline. The three-digit number was designated as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the U.S. in 2022 and has seen significant outreach since then. In 2024, the Maryland General Assembly approved a 25-cent charge to support the helpline. The group of advocates argues that Gov. Moore's proposed budget fails to allocate the $25 million in revenue back into 988 call centers. "Without this funding, 988 call centers will be forced to lay off counselors; wait times for calls, texts, and chats will increase; and Marylanders in distress will suffer the consequences," the group said in a release. According to the group, the proposed 2026 budget would cut $90 million in funding for school mental health resources. The funding is provided through the Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports. "In its first six months alone, the Consortium has supported the provision of behavioral health services to 58,000 students across 80% of Maryland schools, resulting in improved mental health outcomes for 70-80% of Maryland students." the group said. Student mental health resources Maryland lawmakers have previously supported legislation to address mental health programs for students. Recently, the state health department expanded coverage for families on Medicaid, providing students with certain behavioral and mental health services. In 2024, a law went into effect requiring public colleges and universities to allow students suffering from mental health crises to withdraw and receive tuition and fee reimbursements. The Cameron Carden Act of 2024 was introduced after a Salisbury University student faced discrimination prompting a decline in his mental health. He withdrew from the university but was denied any reimbursements at the time. In 2024, a report found that most states, including Maryland, did not have enough school psychologists. The ratio at the time was one psychologist to every 1,066 students.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Some sexual assault victims asked to waive rights, despite Md. law banning the practice
Despite a five-year-old Maryland law banning their use, at least two police departments in the state continued to ask alleged victims of sexual assault to sign documents waiving their right to a police investigation. Officials with the Hagerstown and Takoma Park departments said they had been unaware of the law and have since discontinued the practice, which is widely discouraged by victims advocates and groups including the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 'This practice is patently unfair to victims because it sidesteps the law enforcement agency's responsibility for investigating the report,' the police chiefs association said in a policy statement 'strongly discouraging' the use of waivers. Last month, the Maryland Attorney General's office sent a letter with Frequently Asked Questions or FAQs about the 2020 law after it learned some law enforcement agencies wanted additional clarity on it, a spokeswoman said. The law was passed after a Baltimore Sun investigation found that area police departments had prompted hundreds of accusers to sign waivers in 2017 and 2018 that released the agencies from further investigation of their cases — sometimes soon after they had reported an assault and may have still been in a traumatized state. In one case, police asked a 21-year-old Towson University student to sign a waiver while she was in the hospital, with a blood alcohol level higher than allowable to drive, waiting for a sexual assault forensic exam. The Sun found that Baltimore County had the highest number of signed waivers, 172, but after being questioned for the article, the police department said it was discontinuing the practice. Anne Arundel County, where 43 people had signed waivers, also stopped using them after The Sun article was published. In Harford County, eight people had signed forms, but Cristie Hopkins, a sheriff's office spokeswoman, said the agency stopped using them and is in compliance with the state law. A sponsor of the bill that was passed by the Maryland General Assembly said she was 'very concerned' that waivers remained in use after the law's effective date, October 2020, and hoped that the FAQs would serve as a reminder to police departments. 'This is the legislative intent,' said state Sen. Shelly Hettleman, a Baltimore County Democrat. 'It says what it says.' A recent Maryland Public Information Act request found that despite the 2020 Maryland law, the Hagerstown Police Department had on occasion asked victims to sign a form saying they did not want 'the alleged suspect in my case to be prosecuted nor … desire any further investigation of the alleged crime.' Another MPIA request found that Takoma Park had used a waiver in which victims released police 'from any further investigation or inquiries into this matter, at my own insistence. I affirm that I will not pursue this matter further, nor will I initiate any criminal prosecution against any persons involved or responsible for this offense. I will make no further inquiries as to any subsequent investigation conducted by the Takoma Park Police, nor will I voluntarily appear as a witness in any potential criminal prosecution from this complaint.' Both departments told The Sun they used the forms rarely, and usually when victims were not cooperating with their investigation. Sgt. Jesse Duffey, who supervises the Hagerstown criminal investigation unit, said waivers were used perhaps once a year. He said after learning of the law early last year, the department stopped using the forms. 'A lot of times it was because the victim was not cooperating, or we wouldn't be able to get in contact with them,' Duffey said. 'If we hadn't been able to reach the victim, in three or six months, the detective would ask, would you want a waiver?' Takoma Park police said a search of its records showed that the form was used twice each in 2021 and 2024 and stopped using them last year after learning of the law. 'Generally, we use waivers when a victim or complainant doesn't want to pursue an investigation,' said Takoma Park Deputy Police Chief Shibu Philipose. 'It's more so there are no misunderstandings, that the victim understands that police are not pursuing case.' Hettleman said that law enforcement agencies had used waivers in the past as a way of 'protecting themselves. If the survivor doesn't want to go ahead, they wouldn't be held accountable. There is a way under the law for them to document that.' The FAQs, which were sent by the Attorney General's office on behalf of the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Policy and Funding Committee, say 'a law enforcement agency may document the victim's decision with [an] audiovisual recording and in the investigative report.' The FAQs also say police should tell victims that suspending the investigation is not permanent and they can change their mind at any time. Additionally, police should let victims know that unless they state otherwise, their sexual assault evidence kit will be tested. Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault said she was 'disappointed but not surprised' that the law didn't completely halt the use of waivers, calling the practice a 'bad penny' that continues to turn up. 'It's bad policy because it's not really used to empower survivors but to get law enforcement off the hook,' she said. Still, she and other advocates say the practice is increasingly less common than in the past. 'There's a level of awareness, a level of acknowledgement that this is not an appropriate tool,' said Ann Burdges, the CEO of End Violence Against Women International, a nonprofit that offers training to law enforcement, health professionals and others who respond to victims of sexual assault. 'It puts an unfair burden on the victim in the aftermath of a violent assault.' ________
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical and geriatric parole bill back before Senate panel
Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) holds a letter from Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates in support of legislation, during testimony Tuesday before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) told a Senate panel Tuesday that her bill to increase avenues to parole for elderly or ailing incarcerated individuals is 'not a get-out-of-jail free card' but is about fairness. 'It is relying on the expertise and the experience of the Maryland parole commissioners who take these decisions very, very seriously and have the responsibility for balancing public safety with humanity and meting out justice,' Hettleman said in testimony to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Joanna Mupanduki seess it differently. Mupanduki, the deputy director for the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, said the Hettleman's bill would traumatize victims, or their loved one, who would be forced to relive the crime every time an inmate came up for parole under the bill. 'Every time it brings up bad memories for them. They have to walk through the worst situations in their lives,' said Mupanduki, also an attorney, who testified virtually. 'There are crimes that are worthy of a life sentence and more people should be serving more than 15 years for the loss of an innocent life.' This is the fourth year that Hettleman has tried to pass her bill, Senate Bill 181, which would reform the rules for Maryland's medical and geriatric parole. Under the bill, an incarcerated individual who is 60 years old and has served as least 15 years of his sentence but who is not registered as a sex offender, could apply for parole. Someone could apply for a medical parole, if a medical professional first determined that the incarcerated individual is 'chronically debilitated or incapacitated' or has 'a disease or condition with an end-of-life trajectory.' Certain conditions would include dementia or a severe or permanent medical or cognitive disability that prevents the person 'from completing more than one activity or daily living.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The medical and geriatric parole options would only be available to those whose sentences allow for the possibility of parole. Those eligible under the bill can request a hearing before the state's Parole Commission to consider whether to grant a person parole. A person considered for parole may request a hearing every two years. The measure has two major supporters: the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and Attorney General Anthony Brown (D). Currently, the Parole Commission has the authority to grant parole based on several factors, such as circumstances of the crime committed, physical and mental state of the incarcerated individual and any progress made by that person while in prison. Ernest Eley Jr., who's been chair of the commission for about eight months, said the current parole structure has permitted one person to be released on geriatric parole in the last 10 years. But Eley, who testified Tuesday in support of the bill, said about 1,100 individuals aged 60 and older are currently incarcerated, and about 760 of them have served at least 15 years in prison, which would make them eligible for parole under Hettleman's bill. In terms of medical parole, Eley said it makes the commission 'more vigilant' to assess whether a parole applicant deserves to be released. When questioned by Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), Eley said the commission currently has seven members, which is noted on the state code website. But Smith pointed out that state statute calls for 10 members on the commission. Eley confirmed that's the correct figure Tuesday because he said the commission currently has three vacancies. Members are appointed by the secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services, then approved by the governor with consent from the Senate. Smith asked how close is the commission to filling those three vacancies. 'Very close,' said Eley, who added names are being vetted by the governor's office. Smith wondered if, fully staffed, the commission might be able to process more applications without an overhaul of the law. 'A fully empaneled parole board and just a minor change in the regs would go a long way helping to expedite our processes here,' Smith said. A hearing on the House version sponsored by Del. J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel) will be held Feb. 4 before the Judiciary Committee, which she serves as vice chair.
