Jama Acuff was named the new director of the
Howard County Department of Corrections, beginning May 3.
As director, Acuff will oversee more than 170 employees and be responsible for the operation of the Howard County Detention Center, Howard County Central Booking Facility, and oversight of the Howard County Pre-Trial Community Supervision Program. This includes departmental budget preparation, procurement, and fiscal management, compliance with Maryland state correctional standards, development of policies and procedures, internal investigations, in-service training programs, facility maintenance, the custody of inmates and the security of the facility.
Acuff brings 40 years of correctional experience to the position. She retired from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons after 29 years of service, where she began her career as a correctional officer.
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By leading the initiative, PJI will build upon the Georgetown academic courses they have at the D.C. jail through its Prison Scholars Program.
“We are excited to build upon the success of the Prison Scholars Program and provide an opportunity for students to earn a college degree while incarcerated,” said PJI Director Marc Howard.
“A degree from Georgetown and the interdisciplinary coursework behind it will prepare our graduates to reenter their communities and the workforce with pride in their academic achievements.”
Many returning citizens struggle to find employment after their release due to their criminal record, a lack of formal education, and large gaps in resumes, said the PJI in a press release.
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Some Maryland inmates could soon swap their orange jumpsuits for caps and gowns under a new program at one of the nation s most prestigious universities where tuition costs law-abiding students upward of $60,000 per year.
Georgetown University will offer
a full bachelor’s degree program for Maryland inmates beginning in the next academic year, the Washington, D.C., university announced on Wednesday. The program goes beyond the Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative s existing non-degree Prison Scholars Program, which began in 2018. We are excited to build upon the success of the Prison Scholars Program and provide an opportunity for students to earn a college degree while incarcerated, Prisons and Justice Initiative Director Marc Howard said. A degree from Georgetown and the interdisciplinary coursework behind it will prepare our graduates to reenter their communities and the workforce with pride in their academic achievements.
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A software issue caused Arizona prison inmates to be stuck behind bars longer than legally allowed.
A separate software issue resulted in potentially thousands of inmates wrongly held in max custody.
Other software issues have led to fatal outcomes, leading experts to call for increased oversight.
It s easy to forget just how much of the modern world is powered by software, from trains and planes to emails and file transfers. Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) s National Prison Project, says that when software is working behind the scenes, that kind of business operations stuff, you just assume normally it s doing its job.