Maryland governor to close Baltimore detention center

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has announced plans to shut down a "deplorable" Baltimore jail that was the focus of a federal corruption investigation.

Hogan said at a news conference Thursday the state would save $10 million to $15 million a year by closing the "deplorable" Baltimore City Detention Center. It houses hundreds of inmates awaiting trial or serving short sentences.

Current employees and inmates will be reassigned to other facilities.

"There is plenty of capacity in the system," Hogan said. For that reason, it "makes no sense to keep their deplorable facility" operating. For security reasons, the destinations of the inmates will not be disclosed.

The jail grabbed headlines in 2013 after a sweeping federal indictment exposed a sophisticated drug- and cellphone-smuggling ring involving dozens of gang members and correctional officers. The investigation also exposed sexual relations between jailhouse gang leader Tavon White and female guards that left four of them pregnant.

Forty of the 44 defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy have been convicted, including 24 correctional officers. Thirty-five defendants pleaded guilty; eight defendants went to trial, and one defendant has died. For his part, White pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Baltimore-based Public Justice Center last month called on a federal judge to reopen a lawsuit against the state of Maryland over what the agencies described as substandard conditions.

According to the lawsuit, the jail's medical and mental health care possibly played a role in the death of seven inmates over the last couple of years. The groups allege inmates suffering from illnesses such as HIV and diabetes were denied life-sustaining prescription medication.

The filing also described moldy showers, cells infested with mice and cockroaches, poor ventilation and broken toilets.

The agencies also said the state failed to cure systemic problems, despite entering into a 2007 agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. In response, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services secretary Stephen Moyer said he was committed to changes. He noted the state has spent more than $58 million over the past 10 years to improve the safety and security of inmates and staff.

David Fathi, director of the ACLU National Prison Project, said closing the facility would be a positive step, although he expressed concern about how hundreds of inmates would be transferred.