Maryland lawmakers consider bills on cellphones in prison

Maryland lawmakers are discussing ways to cut back on contraband in correctional facilities. The House of Judiciary Committee will be outlining several measures on Tuesday. One of those measures will be to increase the penalty for providing cellphones to detained persons sentenced from misdemeanors to felony’s and is supported by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.  This would raise the penalty up from three years in prison to five. A number of other measures are being proposed by lawmakers this session due to a contraband scheme at the Baltimore City Detention Center last year which lead to the federal indictments of 44 people, including 27 correctional officers.