Political Standoff Over Maryland Prisons
An interesting standoff is ramping up in the state of Maryland around the issue of a recent wave of prison violence, including the deaths of two correctional officers, the first since 1984. Leaders of the state’s prison guards union are laying responsibility for the trouble at the doorstep of rehabilitation-minded prisons chief, Public Safety Secretary Mary Ann Saar, and asking for her head. Thus far, Saar and her boss, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., are standing firm, saying the blame isn't logic-based. But stay tuned. GREG GARLAND for the Baltimore Sun.