Inmate Rights in Maryland

Maryland's prison rights landscape is shaped by several features that distinguish it from most other states. Maryland has a two step grievance process that requires filing an Administrative Remedy Procedure before reaching the Incarcerated Individual Grievance Office, which is a separate body with jurisdiction over all grievance complaints against DPSCS officials and employees. Maryland restored voting rights to people with felony convictions who have completed their sentence of imprisonment, including those on parole and probation, effective March 10, 2016. Maryland also has the Patuxent Institution, the only sentenced correctional facility in Maryland that is not part of DPSCS, operating instead under its own enabling statute.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, known as DPSCS, refers to incarcerated people as incarcerated individuals. DPSCS operates 18 prisons and pre release centers. The Maryland Parole Commission is a separate body that makes parole decisions. The Prisoner's Rights Information System of Maryland, known as PRISM, provides free legal guidance and support to people incarcerated in the Maryland Division of Correction and at Patuxent Institution.

This guide covers rights inside Maryland state prisons, including Patuxent Institution, and county jails across ten domains, grounded in DPSCS policy, Maryland Code of Administrative Regulations (COMAR), and the current legal landscape.

Here is the short version, before we take each right apart.

Medical and mental health care are constitutionally required. The Maryland grooming regulation explicitly protects the right of incarcerated individuals to exercise freedom in personal grooming and appearance. Mail is governed by DPSCS policy with legal mail protected by constitutional rules. Phone calls run through the DPSCS contracted provider. Visitation is governed by DPSCS policy and is described as a privilege but is an important part of case management. Grievances require a two step process: an Administrative Remedy Procedure filed within 30 days under COMAR 12.02.28, then escalation to the Incarcerated Individual Grievance Office. Disciplinary hearings carry due process protections. Religious practice is protected under the First Amendment and RLUIPA. PREA protections apply with a zero tolerance standard embedded in Maryland regulations. ADA accommodations are required. Voting rights are restored as soon as a person is released from prison, including to those on parole or probation, effective since 2016. The Juvenile Restoration Act allows people sentenced as juveniles tried as adults to petition for sentence reduction after 20 years.

Medical and mental health care

Every person in Maryland state custody has a constitutional right to adequate medical and mental health care under the Eighth Amendment. DPSCS contracts for health care services at its facilities. Maryland regulations require managing officials to establish inmate protection from physical and mental abuse and harassment by personnel, including a zero tolerance standard for sexual abuse and sexual harassment that includes access to medical health care and access to mental health counseling and support as required components of the response to abuse.

The Patuxent Institution has its own Director of Mental Health and operates as a specialized facility for people requiring intensive mental health treatment, separate from DPSCS's general population facilities. If your loved one is not receiving needed medical or mental health care, submit every request in writing, file a formal Administrative Remedy Procedure, and escalate to the Incarcerated Individual Grievance Office if unresolved. PRISM (Prisoner's Rights Information System of Maryland) provides free legal guidance for medical treatment issues and improper living conditions at both DPSCS facilities and Patuxent Institution.

The grievance process: ARP and the IGO

Maryland uses a distinctive two step grievance process. The first step is filing an Administrative Remedy Procedure, known as an ARP, with the managing official, typically the warden or the facility ARP Coordinator, within 30 days of the date the incident occurred, under COMAR 12.02.28.05.D(1) and 12.02.28.08. The ARP is the initial internal grievance filed at the facility level. After completing this step and receiving an unsatisfactory result or no result, the incarcerated individual may escalate to the second step.

The second step is the Incarcerated Individual Grievance Office, known as the IGO (formerly called the Inmate Grievance Office, renamed in 2023). The IGO is a separate body within DPSCS that has jurisdiction over all incarcerated individual grievance complaints against DPSCS officials and employees. PRISM provides free legal assistance for representation in IGO hearings when the grievance involves a civil rights issue. Completing both steps of the grievance process is required before filing a federal civil rights lawsuit under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. File every ARP and every IGO filing in writing, keep copies, and document every response and failure to respond within required timeframes. Contact PRISM or the ACLU of Maryland for complex civil rights grievance matters.

Mail and correspondence

Mail in Maryland state prisons is governed by DPSCS policy. DPSCS permits and encourages incarcerated individuals to correspond with family, friends, and loved ones with minimum interference, consistent with the legitimate security needs of the facility. Incoming mail must include the facility acronym for the receiving facility, and the sender's name and return address. DPSCS uses Access Corrections for the management and processing of all money orders sent to incarcerated individuals.

Legal mail, meaning correspondence with courts, licensed attorneys, and other privileged parties, must be handled under DPSCS procedures that provide for confidential visits with legal counsel and the handling of legal mail under COMAR provisions. Legal mail must be opened only in the incarcerated individual's presence to check for physical contraband and may not be read. InmateAid can help families confirm the current mailing address and format requirements for the specific facility before sending. DPSCS permits and encourages incarcerated individuals to receive reading materials and publications consistent with applicable law and regulations.

Phone and video contact

Phone calls from Maryland state prisons run through the DPSCS contracted provider. Calls are monitored and recorded except for calls to attorneys. Phone rates are subject to the FCC's prison telephone rate caps, expanded in 2024 to cover all facilities regardless of size. DPSCS regulations provide for the use of the telephone for legal purposes as part of incarcerated individual legal rights.

InmateAid can help families navigate the phone and video contact systems for DPSCS facilities and for Patuxent Institution. Regular contact is documented to support better outcomes after release, and DPSCS explicitly supports and embraces family contact as part of its mission. For Patuxent Institution, which operates separately from DPSCS, contact that specific facility directly through InmateAid or the facility's family contact resources.

Visitation

DPSCS views visitation as a privilege that is an important part of incarcerated individual development and case management. Visitors must be on the approved visitor list and must comply with DPSCS facility visiting rules. DPSCS policy requires that all visitors and incarcerated individuals be provided equal opportunities to participate in the visitation process in accordance with the ADA. Attorney visits are governed separately under COMAR provisions that ensure confidential access to legal counsel.

Maryland regulations at COMAR 12.14.04 set minimum standards for visitation at all adult correctional institutions, including attorney visits outside of regular visiting hours. If a visit is denied or restricted, the incarcerated individual may seek review through the two step grievance process: first the ARP at the facility level, then the IGO. County jails in Maryland operate under local authority with their own visiting policies. Contact InmateAid for facility specific visiting information.

Disciplinary hearings

When an incarcerated individual in Maryland state custody is accused of a disciplinary infraction, they are entitled to the minimum due process protections from Wolff v. McDonnell: advance written notice of the charge, a hearing, and a written statement of the evidence and reasons for any sanction. Maryland regulations require managing officials to have written disciplinary procedures at all adult correctional institutions.

A disciplinary conviction can affect classification, housing assignment, program eligibility, visiting access, and parole consideration before the Maryland Parole Commission. If the hearing result appears to violate procedural requirements, appeal through the DPSCS disciplinary appeal process and file an ARP. PRISM provides free legal guidance on civil rights violations at DPSCS facilities and can be contacted for disciplinary matters involving potential constitutional violations.

Solitary confinement and restrictive housing

Maryland has a documented history of high use of solitary confinement. ACLU of Maryland legislative efforts resulted in a 2016 law requiring DPSCS to report annually on the use of restrictive housing. Despite this reporting requirement, the Sentencing Project and ACLU of Maryland have continued to document systemic concerns about how restrictive housing is used in Maryland prisons, particularly for people with serious mental illness.

If your loved one is in restrictive housing or solitary confinement, document the conditions, the stated reason for placement, the amount of out of cell time per day, and whether mental health services are being provided. File an ARP within 30 days and escalate to the IGO if unresolved. Contact the ACLU of Maryland for systemic concerns about restrictive housing practices. PRISM can assist with individual cases that raise civil rights concerns.

PREA and protection from sexual abuse

The Prison Rape Elimination Act applies in all DPSCS facilities, at Patuxent Institution, and in Maryland county jails. Maryland regulations under COMAR 12.14.04 specifically require managing officials to have a policy establishing incarcerated individual protection from physical and mental abuse, including a zero tolerance standard for sexual abuse and sexual harassment, with required provisions for facility response, access to medical health care, and access to mental health counseling and support.

This embedding of PREA requirements in Maryland's own regulatory code means the zero tolerance standard is both a federal requirement and a state regulatory requirement. Reports of sexual abuse or harassment can be made to facility staff, the PREA coordinator, or through the grievance process. Retaliation against someone who reports is a PREA violation. Document every incident, every report made, and any change in housing or treatment that follows.

Religious practice and grooming rights

People in Maryland state prisons have the right to religious practice under the First Amendment and the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. DPSCS must accommodate sincere religious beliefs and practices unless it can demonstrate a compelling security interest that cannot be addressed through less restrictive means.

Maryland's own correctional standards regulations include a distinctive grooming provision: managing officials must have a policy ensuring the right of an incarcerated individual to exercise freedom in personal grooming and appearance, subject only to facility requirements essential to safety, security, identification, and hygiene. This state regulatory protection goes beyond what many other states' regulations explicitly provide and may be relevant in cases where religious practice involves particular hair or grooming requirements. Requests for religious accommodations go through the facility chaplain and the DPSCS accommodation process. Denials can be challenged through the ARP and IGO process and, if unresolved, in federal court under RLUIPA.

ADA and disability accommodations

People with disabilities in Maryland state prisons are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. DPSCS policy explicitly notes that in compliance with the ADA of 1990, people with disabilities in DPSCS custody must not be discriminated against with regard to programs, services, or activities. Maryland regulations under COMAR 12.14.04 require managing officials to have a written non discrimination policy covering race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, and political beliefs.

Requests for disability accommodations should be submitted in writing to the facility. A denial or failure to respond can be challenged through the ARP and IGO grievance process and, if unresolved, in federal court. PRISM provides free legal assistance for disability related civil rights claims at DPSCS facilities and at Patuxent Institution. Document every accommodation requested and every response received.

Voting rights and post release rights

Maryland restored voting rights to people with felony convictions who have completed their sentence of imprisonment, effective March 10, 2016. This means that as soon as a person is released from a Maryland correctional facility, whether on parole, probation, mandatory release supervision, or upon completion of the sentence in full, they are eligible to register to vote. The exception is conviction for buying or selling votes.

DPSCS is required to provide a voter registration form upon release and to inform the person about their voting rights eligibility. If a voter registration packet is not automatically provided, it can be requested from a correctional officer or case manager, or obtained by writing to the State Board of Elections. Voting rights advocates and the Sentencing Project continue to advocate for extending voting rights to people while still incarcerated, noting that over 16,000 Marylanders lose the right to vote due to incarceration and that Black Marylanders are over five times as likely as non Black Marylanders to lose voting rights due to incarceration.

The Juvenile Restoration Act and Patuxent Institution

Two Maryland specific features deserve attention. First, the Juvenile Restoration Act of 2021 allows people who were sentenced as adults for offenses committed while they were juveniles to petition a court for sentence reduction after serving 20 years. As of 2021, 415 people were eligible for review. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender's Decarceration Initiative coordinates representation for eligible people. In the first year after the law took effect, 36 motions were decided with 27 resulting in shorter sentences, and 23 people were granted immediate release.

Second, Patuxent Institution in Jessup, Maryland, is the only sentenced correctional institution in Maryland that is not part of DPSCS. It operates under its own legal authority under Title 4 of the Correctional Services Article, enacted originally in 1951. Patuxent was created to house Maryland's most dangerous criminal offenders and provides intensive mental health treatment. If your loved one is at Patuxent, their grievances go through Patuxent's own process, and PRISM provides legal assistance specifically for Patuxent residents as well as DPSCS residents.

The bottom line for Maryland

Maryland's prison rights landscape is defined by its two step grievance process (ARP within 30 days, then the IGO), the Patuxent Institution as a separate sentenced facility outside DPSCS, the Juvenile Restoration Act allowing petition for sentence reduction for juveniles tried as adults, and the 2016 automatic voting rights restoration upon release from prison including for people on parole and probation.

The rights in this guide are real: medical care and mental health support, grooming and personal appearance rights under Maryland regulation, legal mail protections, phone contact through DPSCS systems, visitation as a priority in DPSCS case management, a two step grievance process with the ARP and the IGO, due process in disciplinary hearings, PREA zero tolerance protection embedded in Maryland regulation, religious accommodation, disability access, and voting rights upon release. PRISM provides free civil rights legal assistance for people at both DPSCS facilities and Patuxent. Document everything, file every ARP on time, escalate to the IGO when needed, contact PRISM or the ACLU of Maryland for systemic concerns, and stay in contact through InmateAid.