Two State Delegates in Western Maryland have announced plans to address how inmates are released from state prisons.

“We are not against people getting a second chance,” said Del. Buckel. “We are not against people hopefully being rehabilitated and getting better. We are just simply…believe it is public safety concern. It is a fairness concern, and it is better for the prisoners.” 

The bill, called the “Suzanne Jones Act,” is named after a Hagerstown, Md., woman who was murdered in 2017 by an inmate after he was released in Hagerstown. Delegates Paul Corderman (R) District 2B, and Jason Buckel (R) District 1B, say the bill would require the released inmate to go back to the county that they lived in or where they committed the crime.

“The parole and probation in Hagerstown that serves the Western Maryland area is one of the most overworked agency in that department,” said Del. Corderman. “We are not giving them the proper support for these inmates when they are released even in our communities…as opposed to what they could be receiving in their home community.” 

Corderman said that since 2015, around 70 percent of more than 1,700 inmates released in Washington County were serving sentences for convictions in areas other than Washington County.