BSOS Highlights: UMD Center Tapped to Help State Reduce Mass Incarceration | CEJE l The Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice & Ethics

On January 11, 2024, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) featured the Judge Alexander Williams Jr. Center for Education, Justice, and Ethics (JAWC) for collaborating with state leaders and criminal justice experts to address mass incarceration issues in the state of Maryland.

Read a portion of the article below:

"The University of Maryland’s Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice and Ethics recently began working alongside state leaders and fellow criminal justice experts to tackle Maryland’s mass incarceration problem.

As part of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC), the center will work with Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Public Defender, and Bowie State University’s Institute for Restorative Justice and Practices to ultimately develop a comprehensive plan to address the racial disparities in the state’s imprisoned population, particularly as it relates to those that wind up imprisoned in the state’s jails. According to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Public Defender, African Americans make up 72% of Maryland’s prison population—the country’s highest share of imprisoned African Americans—despite accounting for only 30% of the state's total population.

“Considering and confronting the role and relationship between social-economic determinants and crime is one part of the solution to this issue,” says the Honorable Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., who heads the namesake UMD center.

“We haven't addressed the fundamental issues that breed crime, particularly the ones that impact young Black males. There are too many individuals unable to obtain sufficient jobs and employment to support their families. In addition, our educational system has failed to effectively reach many of our students in Maryland, and throughout the country. While there are some people who overcome some of the challenges existing in the environment around them, unfortunately, there are too many who fall prey to the negative challenges,” said Judge Williams. “In order to take away the incentive of people to carjack cars, steal, rob, break the law and commit the other things that lead to arrest and incarceration, we must confront, address and resolve the social-economic factors.”

Full Article: UMD Center Tapped to Help State Reduce Mass Incarceration

The main photo of Judge Williams speaking at the inaugural MEJC meeting at Bowie State University is provided by The Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice and Ethics.