Episode 171: Children Don’t Belong In Cages
L. Joy has discussed criminal justice reform and how as a society we can think through and get engaged around making change, and we are going to keep the conversation going. On this episode, L. Joy brings State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County Maryland, Aisha Braveboy to the front of the class to break down exactly what the school to prison pipeline is, how her office is approaching juvenile justice, and how she uses her office to protect the rights of everyone.
Our Guest:
State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy is the top law enforcement officer in Prince George’s County, Maryland, responsible for the safety, security, and the administration of justice for more than 900,000 residents. She manages a budget of roughly $22 million and a staff of over 200, including approximately 100 attorneys. Ms. Braveboy has implemented innovative and successful reforms to the criminal justice system to reduce mass incarceration, while protecting the welfare of her community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Braveboy has been at the forefront with effective solutions to prevent the spread of the virus. She was the first prosecutor in the State and one of the first in the nation – to proactively and thoughtfully reduce the local jail population, which decreased the spread of the coronavirus through her celebrated initiative, Operation Safe Release. This initiative led to a significant reduction in the average daily population at the local jail. In addition, Ms. Braveboy continues to work with non-profits and County agencies to ensure that victims of domestic violence and physical abuse receive the resources and support they need during the pandemic.
During Maryland’s 2020 Legislative Session, Ms. Braveboy and her team worked tirelessly with lawmakers and community partners in Annapolis to ensure that two of her priority pieces of her legislation platform were successfully passed into law. The first priority was the 2nd Lt. Richard Collins, III, Hate Crimes Law which removed unnecessary barriers that existed under the old statute and eased the way to better prosecute hate crimes in Maryland. The second priority was the Assault in the First Degree - Strangulation Law. With the successful passage of this bill, Maryland became the 48th state to recognize strangulation as a felony. This bill was extremely important to Ms. Braveboy as she recognized that survivors of domestic violence are 750% more likely to become a victim of domestic violence homicide. In October of 2020, Ms. Braveboy announced the creation of the County’s Multi-Agency Strangulation Protocol, which is designed to identify victims of strangulation, provide immediate access to the appropriate health care and social services needed, and to collect and preserve evidence needed in the prosecution of their abuser. Prior to office, Ms. Braveboy also begun a “Not One” campaign against domestic violence that continues to give victims and survivors a voice.
Since taking office in December of 2018, Ms. Braveboy has created two new units in her Office to better address criminal justice needs. The Public Integrity Unit focuses on police misconduct, excessive use of force, and public corruption cases. That Unit has successfully prosecuted police officers for violations of the public trust and has indicted officers on a range of offenses, including murder, rape, assault and theft. The Conviction and Sentencing Integrity Unit, the only one of its kind in the State, reviews cases of defendants alleging wrongful conviction or disproportionate sentencing. Under the Braveboy Administration, the Conviction and Sentencing Integrity Unit was awarded a $750,000 grant from the Department of Justice to assist with investigating wrongful conviction cases. Recently, this Unit has focused on juvenile lifers. This group consists of juvenile defendants who were prosecuted as adults and were sentenced to life imprisonment or very lengthy prison terms. They have now served a significant period of time in prison and have demonstrated that they are rehabilitated and are no longer the same child who committed the crime that landed them in prison.
