MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                       March 18, 2004

Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative Testifies in Maryland House Judiciary Committee for Mandatory Minimum Repeal Bill
Most Religious Denominations Agree

Contact: IDPI Executive Director Charles Thomas 301-938-1577

Annapolis – Charles Thomas, executive director of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative will address the Maryland House Judiciary Committee today in favor of H.B. 1110, a bill to repeal mandatory minimum prison sentencing for drug offenders. (The hearing is scheduled for 1 PM, but testimony could continue until the late afternoon.)

“I am here to testify to the broad consensus among mainstream religious denominations that mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders is cruel and inappropriate,” said Charles Thomas. “Politicians are mistaken if they think there is any serious moral backing for these oppressive laws.”

During the 1980s, many state legislatures passed laws that force judges to give long, fixed prison terms to people convicted of certain drug crimes (including nonviolent offenders). These laws are largely responsible for the massive increase in the prison population. Many people who initially favored these harsh mandatory sentences are changing their minds after seeing how ineffective and devastating they are.

The following national religious denominations have made unequivocal statements supporting the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders: Roman Catholic (the largest religious denomination in the state, comprised of 25% of Marylanders), United Methodist (14% of Marylanders, 3rd largest religious denomination), Evangelical Lutheran (6% of Marylanders, 4th largest religious denomination), Presbyterian (3% of Marylanders, 5th largest religious denomination), United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist, and the National Council of Churches (a national coalition of 140,000 congregations from 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox denominations). The actual statements made by these religious bodies will be available at the hearing and by request.

“It is an egregious miscarriage of justice that Maryland’s prisons are filled with mostly black, low-level, non-violent drug offenders,” said Thomas. “This policy is tearing apart families and breaking the state budget, while doing nothing to prevent people — especially young people — from abusing drugs. We pray that legislators will have the compassion and courage to repeal mandatory minimum laws and restore sentencing discretion to judges.” The Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, is a national organization giving public witness to the statements of religious denominations and other faith-based groups calling for more just and compassionate policies regarding drug use, abuse and addiction.

IDPI is part of a state-wide coalition called the Maryland Campaign for Treatment Not Incarceration. This campaign includes MD NAACP, Episcopal Diocese of MD, Justice Policy Institute, MD Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, MD League of Women Voters, National Black Police Association, and more.

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