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Human Rights Watch
New York · Washington ·
London · Brussels
© November 1999 by Human Rights Watch
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 1-56432-243-2
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
99-067865
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Methodology
Access to Detention
Centers
Recommendations
To the Maryland General Assembly
To the Maryland Courts
To the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and
to county jail administrations
Separation from Adult Inmates
Conditions of Confinement
Disciplinary Practices
Staff
Education
Girls Detained in Adult Jails
To the Maryland
Commission on Correctional Standards, the American Correctional Association,
and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care
To the United States
Congress
To the United States
Department of Justice
II. TRYING CHILDREN
IN ADULT COURTS
The Myth of the
"Superpredator"
A Flawed Response
How Children Are Sent to Adult Courts
The Burden on the System
The Potential for Arbitrary Decisionmaking
The Disproportionate Impact on Minority Youth
The Effect on Sentences and Crime
The Consequences
of Being Tried as an Adult
International Standards
III. THE DETENTION
OF CHILDREN IN ADULT JAILS
The Strain on the
System
The Risks to Children's
Safety and Well-Being
Legal Standards
United States Law
and Policy
Civil Enforcement
Under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
"Pattern or Practice"
Lawsuits
Criminal Prosecution
Private Lawsuits
and the Prison Litigation Reform Act
Class Action Litigation
at the Baltimore City Detention Center
National and Local
Standards
International Standards
U.S. Reservations
to International Human Rights Treaties
IV. LIVING CONDITIONS
Conditions in Each
Facility
Baltimore City
Detention Center
The Boys' General
Population Section
The Girls' Dormitory
The Boys' Protective
Custody Section
Protective Custody
for Girls
Boys' Segregation
Girls' Segregation
Other Housing Areas
Frederick County
Detention Center
Montgomery County
Detention Center
Prince George's
County Correctional Center
Washington County
Detention Center
Separation from
Adults
Light, Ventilation,
and Temperature
Clothing
Bedding
Hygiene
Food
V. JUVENILE-ON-JUVENILE
VIOLENCE
Harassment and
Violence
Availability of
Weapons
The "Square Dance"
VI. DISCIPLINE
Notice of the Rules
Disciplinary Hearings
Disciplinary Segregation
"Supermax"
Use of General
Lockdowns
Abuses by Guards
The Need for Specialized
Training
VII. MEDICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
General Medical
Care
Medical Care for
Female Detainees
Mental Health
Mental Health
Services in the Baltimore City Detention Center
VIII. EDUCATION
Education Programs
in the Jails Visited
Prince George's
County Correctional Center
Baltimore City
Detention Center
Montgomery County
Detention Center
Other Jails Visited
The Right to Education
Children with
Learning Disabilities
Applicable Correctional
Standards
IX. OTHER ACTIVITIES
Recreation and
Exercise
Religious Services
Extracurricular
Programming
X. CONTACTS WITH
THE OUTSIDE WORLD
Visits
Telephone Calls
Access to the
Library
APPENDIX A: Excerpts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child
APPENDIX B: U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice
APPENDIX C: U.N. Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty
APPENDIX D: Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
This report was written by Michael Bochenek, counsel to the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, based on information that the author and Jo Becker, advocacy director of the Children's Rights Division, gathered during visits to five Maryland jails from July 1998 to May 1999. Mark Soler, a member of the Children's Rights Division's advisory committee and the president of the Youth Law Center, and Dr. Andrea Weisman, director of mental health services for the court-appointed receiver for medical and mental health services at the Central Detention Facility, Washington, D.C., were part of the Human Rights Watch delegation that toured the Baltimore City Detention Center in May 1999 and contributed to the sections on discipline, medical and mental health services, and education. Lois Whitman, executive director of the Children Rights Division, and Cynthia Brown, program director of Human Rights Watch, edited the report. Jo Becker; Widney Brown, advocacy coordinator of the Women's Rights Division; Allyson Collins, senior researcher; Jamie Fellner, associate counsel; Joe Saunders, associate counsel; Mark Soler; Wilder Tayler, general counsel; and Andrea Weisman reviewed and commented on the manuscript. Fitzroy Hepkins, Patrick Minges, and Shalu Rozario provided production assistance.
We wish to express our deep appreciation to the children who spoke with us and to the many lawyers, judges, academics, government officials, and juvenile rights advocates who assisted us with our research. The names of all of the children we interviewed have been changed to protect their privacy.
We thank the members of the Children's Rights Division's advisory committee and the many other individuals who provided helpful suggestions and assistance during the course of our investigation. In particular, Mark Soler; Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Juvenile Law Center; and Andrea Weisman made invaluable contributions to this report. We are also grateful for the help of Shirley D. Brandman, Esq.; Shawn Brune, Advocates for Families and Youth; Marianna Burt, Esq.; Professor Doug Colbert, University of Maryland School of Law; Sarah Cushman, community organizer, American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland-Eastern Shore; Monique Dixon, staff attorney, Public Justice Center; Frank Dunbaugh, Esq.; Heather Ford, Advocates for Families and Youth; M. Cristina Gutierrez, Esq.; Professor Susan Leviton, University of Maryland School of Law; Bart Lubow, senior associate, The Annie E. Casey Foundation; James Paul McComb, executive director, Maryland Association of Resources for Family and Youth; Mark B. Martin, Esq.; Diane Paul, consultant, Human Rights Watch; Patricia Puritz, consultant, Juvenile Justice Center, American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section; Stephen Sachs, Esq.; Marc Schindler, staff attorney, Youth Law Center; Dr. Deborah Shelton, assistant professor, University of Maryland School of Nursing; Stuart O. Simms, secretary, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Josef Szwarc, researcher, AmericasRegional Program, Amnesty International; Deborah H. Thompson, senior staff attorney, Public Justice Center; the Honorable Martin P. Welch, chief judge, Circuit Court for Baltimore City; Leval Wilson, staff attorney, Juvenile Law Center; and the Honorable David W. Young, judge, Circuit Court for Baltimore City. In addition, we thank the individuals who asked that their names not be mentioned.
We also wish to express our thanks to the directors and staff of the Baltimore City Detention Center, the Frederick County Detention Center, the Mongomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, the Prince George's County Department of Corrections, and the Washington County Detention Center for facilitating our access to the facilities we visited and for responding cordially and responsively to our numerous queries and requests.
Grants from the Abell Foundation and The Annie E. Casey Foundation made this investigation possible.