Prince George's County Returning Citizens
Prince George's County Returning Citizens
Life After Prison
Prince George’s County is attempting to be a place where those once incarcerated can thrive and find new life. On April 29, Prince George’s County Community College will host a summit talking about those formerly incarcerated. From Prince George’s County Suite:
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and the Returning Citizens Affairs Division (RCAD) within her office are joining faith-based community partners and reentry stakeholders in recognizing the month of April as National Second Chance Awareness Month. The county will begin a series of events focused on returning citizens at Prince George’s Community College on Saturday, April 29, 2023; 9:00am-2:00pm.
“We are proud to recognize National Second Chance Awareness Month, now with the strong support of our new Returning Citizens Affairs Division which has already hit the ground running within their first year,” said Alsobrooks. “We will continue to do everything we can to serve our returning citizens and ensure they have the support they need to successfully transition back into the community.”
Prince George’s County Legislation/Event
On April 11, Vice Chair Wala Blegay proposed a bill that would temporarily suspend townhome development in Prince George’s County.
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Prince George’s County Council Vice Chair Wala Blegay, Esq. (District 6), during session on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, presented Council Bill CB-052-2023, an Ordinance to temporarily suspend the development of townhouse and townhouse-related residential uses outside of areas designated for medium to high-density development in the County's approved General Plan and comprehensive plans. The temporary limitation would begin on July 1, 2023 and continue until July 1, 2025.
The proposed legislation would require the County to meet its goals to follow the approved General Plan - Plan Prince George’s 2035, and the County’s Climate Action Plan, both of which encourage smart growth such as development of townhomes near transit-oriented and local areas centers where the County has the necessary public infrastructure in place.
April 15 — Council Member Jolene Ivey wants the Prince George’s County community to remember Thomas Juricks, who was lynched by a white man near the Fort Washington area.
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Prince George’s County Council Member Jolene Ivey (District 5) encourages residents to join a “Community Remembrance” event honoring Thomas Juricks on Saturday, April 15, 2023, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Harmony Hall Arts Center, 10701 Livingston Road in Fort Washington. The event is co-sponsored by the Prince George’s County Lynching Memorial Project and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation.
The lynching in 1869 of Thomas Juricks, a Black laborer and farmhand who lived with his family in the Piscataway area near Fort Washington, is the first documented lynching in Prince George’s County. Mr. Juricks was murdered, without the authorization of the judicial system, by a White masked mob on October 12, 1869. No one was held criminally responsible for his death.
New Maryland Bills
The legislative session ended with a number of bills passed before midnight. One of the most noted bills was HB1071. The bill would prohibit police officers from stopping residents just because of marijuana smoke. Michele Hall, assistant public defender at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, wrote an article about the bill. Here is how Marijuana Moment, a digital publication that covers marijuana issues in America.
The legislation from Del. Charlotte Crutchfield (D), which passed the House with amendments last month, cleared the Senate in a 27-20 vote on Monday with one additional revision. It then went back to the House, which concurred with the change and passed it in a 101-36 vote, with just minutes left in the legislative session.
It states that a law enforcement official “may not initiate a stop or a search of a person, a motor vehicle, or a vessel” based only on the smell of burnt or unburnt cannabis, the possession of a personal use amount of marijuana or the presence of money near marijuana without additional evidence of intent to distribute.
You can also read the rest of the bills here.