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Over-incarceration still happening in Maryland | READER COMMENTARY
Sunday, September 20, 2020By Andre M. Davis I was doubly discouraged by the data reported by Professors Doug Colbert and Colin Starger reflecting the unnecessary and unjust over-incarceration of non-violent pre-trial detainees in Baltimore (“Bail injustice in the time of COVID-19,” Sept. 7). Not long ago, as an advisory board member of Open Society Institute-Baltimore, I applauded OSI’s participation [...] -
Danielle Torain: ‘You’re talking about your own folks’
Tuesday, September 15, 2020By Adam Bednar Danielle Torain grew up in Baltimore, and her career included work in the mayor’s office before taking over as the executive director of the Open Society Institute Baltimore early in 2020. Having young people of color in positions leading organizations, she said, provides an important context for organizations like her own dedicated [...] -
Maryland will allow Big Tech to track if someone with the coronavirus comes near you. Should you let them?
Friday, September 04, 2020By Jean Marbella and Hallie Miller You probably want to know if you’ve come in contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. But questions like who else would know, and what they might do with that information, have made some wary of a new cellphone notification tool developed by Apple and Google [...] -
Opinion: Maryland Blocks Its Most Marginalized Citizens From Voting
Sunday, August 23, 2020By Nicole Hanson Since its emergence earlier this year, COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of life, and the 2020 elections are no exception. Maryland’s primary elections were postponed from April 28 to June 2 and an entire election was conducted almost solely via mail-in ballots in an effort to reduce human contact and the further spread of [...] -
A Good Place to Start — Low-Threshold Buprenorphine Initiation
Thursday, August 20, 2020By Justin Berk In Baltimore, a van was repurposed as a mobile health unit to address the city’s opioid-overdose crisis. Clinicians prescribe buprenorphine to people recently released from incarceration, setting a low threshold for treatment initiation. Read Full Article -
Commission to Decriminalize Md. Seeks ‘Serious Transformation’ of Justice System
Thursday, July 23, 2020By Hannah Gaskill After completing their first six months of work, advocates from the People’s Commission to Decriminalize Maryland on Wednesday announced their intention to combat state and local laws that target marginalized populations. Their eyes are locked on generating policy that’s inclusive for every stakeholder in the criminal justice system. “Everyone who is a [...] -
Community groups unite for Md. criminal justice reform
Wednesday, July 22, 2020By Steve Lash Maryland’s criminal laws and policies must be reviewed and when necessary changed to protect minorities, exploited women and the poor from being targeted by the police simply because of who they are, members of a fledgling coalition of community organizations said Wednesday. Read Full Article -
Further bail reform needed in Maryland | COMMENTARY
Friday, July 10, 2020By Iman Freeman, Nicole Hanson, and Caryn York Maryland justice officials should take a fresh look and a new approach to addressing racial bias in our pretrial bail system, which continues to result in disparities in who is let out of jail and given monetary conditions of release that they can’t afford despite reform efforts [...] -
Baltimore to run independent contact tracing program with funds from Pepsi, Rockefeller Foundation
Thursday, June 04, 2020By Hallie Miller Baltimore is launching a coronavirus contact tracing operation separate from the state that will employ up to 300 individuals who have lost work due to the pandemic, officials announced Thursday. The $12 million public-private program — supported by the mayor’s office, Baltimore Civic Fund, Baltimore Corps and a host of foundations and corporations including the Rockefeller [...] -
What’s at Stake in the Special Election: ‘We’re Going to Learn a Lot’
Tuesday, April 28, 2020By Josh Kurtz Officially, the special congressional election in Maryland’s 7th District Tuesday pits former Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D) against conservative commentator Kimberly Klacik (R) for the right to finish the term of the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D). But with the outcome likely a foregone conclusion in a heavily black and historically Democratic [...]
Open Society Institute – Baltimore
Open Society Institute (OSI) – Baltimore : Audacious Thinking For Lasting Change
