O’Malley Is Torn Between Push for Treatment and Fear of Returning Offenders to the Streets
The General Assembly approved a measure last month that would make twice-convicted drug dealers eligible for parole, meaning a 10-year sentence could be shortened to 2 1/2 years for a nonviolent offender. About two dozen other states are rewriting laws that mandate fixed prison terms as they confront a crushing volume of low-level criminals clogging state prisons.
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The Legislative Black Caucus, concerned that African Americans make up a majority of defendants jailed on drug charges, made House Bill 992 a top priority this year, but it was still among the most divisive of the just-concluded legislative session.
A veto would be O’Malley’s first after a session in which he joined arms with the Democrat-controlled General Assembly on issues including the environment and a living wage, signing hundreds of bills.