Justice Reinvestment; Declining Abortion Rates; Power Plant Protests; Police Reform Coalition
Last year Maryland taxpayers spent $1.3 billion dollars to incarcerate more than 20 thousand offenders -- most of them convicted of non-violent crimes. We talk to Chris Shank, executive director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, and Del. Kathleen Dumais (D- Mont. Co), members of a bipartisan panel that just recommended shorter drug sentences, more predictable parole and and other changes that could save taxpayers nearly a quarter billion dollars over the next decade.
Plus, America’s abortion rate hits a record low. Dr. Amina Chaudhry, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Maryland, provides a breakdown of the data. And protests against an incinerator planned for South Baltimore ended in arrests this week. Fern Shen of the Baltimore Brew gives us the details.
Then, Reverend S. Todd Yeary, co-chair of the Maryland NAACP, urges residents to channel outrage constructively, by working for structural reform of the Baltimore Police Department. All this on Midday's Friday news round-up.
