Over the next few months, 200 of the state's oldest and least violent inmates will be considered for early release to ease crowding in Maryland's 24 prisons.
The state's commissioner of correction has ordered his staff to review the files of selected inmates 46 and older who have served from 30 percent to 70 percent of their sentences. None on the list has been convicted of a violent crime, child abuse or a sex offense against a child, said Leonard A. Sipes Jr., a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
The review, to be completed at the end of this month, is to determine whether the Maryland Parole Commission should change its standards for releasing some older inmates, said Commission Chairman Paul J. Davis.
The recommendations are to be submitted to Division of Correction headquarters by the end of the year. The Parole Commission will review them and schedule hearings for inmates it wants to consider for parole, probably in February or March, Mr. Davis said.
The search for low-risk parolees is the latest attempt to ease Maryland's burgeoning prison population. The state is holding more than 20,000 inmates in institutions built for 12,700 -- the seventh-most-crowded system in the country.
"The primary mover is to look and see if candidates who by the nature of growing older become more amenable," said Mr. Davis, who requested the review.
The possible speed-up in paroles would be in addition to the annual Christmas commutations traditionally granted by the governor.
Mr. Davis said he planned to forward about 28 names to Gov. William Donald Schaefer to consider for Christmas commutation by the end of this week. Those inmates, convicted on a variety of charges, all must be within three months of release. Mr. Schaefer commuted the sentences of 22 inmates at the end of last year.
The review of older prisoners involves a different group that would not have qualified for Christmas commutations, Mr. Davis said.
The Nov. 29 memo from Commissioner of Correction Richard A. Lanham Sr. directs wardens to make sure that case managers review the inmates' files to determine which they would recommend for "an immediate parole hearing/rehearing or early release."
Those eligible for such a recommendation include "inmates on the list who have been previously refused parole."
Studies have shown that convicts tend to mellow as they grow older, and that they have a less than 10 percent probability of committing crimes after age 55, according to Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and head of a program that seeks parole for older prisoners.
If the experiment is successful, Mr. Davis said he might ask for a similar review of a larger pool of inmates of all ages, who had committed certain nonviolent crimes and served at least 30 percent of their sentences.
Mr. Davis said most of those whose cases will be reviewed include those whom the parole commissioner has declined to parole at one point but for whom another hearing has been scheduled. Parole commissioners consider the "physical, mental and moral qualifications of the inmate for parole," but age is not specifically listed as a factor.
Maryland parolees serve an average of 50 percent of their sentences before being released to community supervision. About 15 percent of parole releases occur at an inmate's first hearing, which is scheduled after he has served at least 25 percent of his sentence.