ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gov. Wes Moore announced plans Monday to close the Maryland Correctional Institution at Jessup by June 30, 2026, citing decades of underinvestment that has left the medium-security facility in Anne Arundel County beyond repair. The move will save Maryland taxpayers $21 million each year in operational costs while allowing the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to redistribute 709 incarcerated individuals and 308 staff members to other state facilities.
The facility, located at 7803 House of Correction Road in Jessup, opened in 1981 as an annex to the now-demolished Maryland House of Correction. A Department of General Services assessment identified foundation sinking from water penetration, closed housing units due to drainage failures, and outdated plumbing, electrical and roofing systems. Repairs would total about $200 million and span years, officials said. Instead, the state will spend $1.5 million to shutter and winterize the site after closure, evaluating future uses such as potential redevelopment or demolition.
“MCI-J has long outrun its facility lifespan and we refuse to kick the can further down the road,” Moore said. “Our plan to close this facility will save taxpayers money, ease strain on our hardworking and dedicated correctional staff, and honor the state’s commitment to meeting every Marylander with humanity, including incarcerated individuals.”
The announcement addresses broader challenges in Maryland’s correctional system, which houses about 17,000 people across 18 facilities under the Division of Correction. Staffing shortages have plagued the department for over a decade, leading to mandatory overtime costs of $185.6 million in fiscal year 2025 — 14% of the $1 billion budget. Union officials with AFSCME Maryland Council 3 reported nearly nine assaults daily in state prisons, linking the violence to understaffing and burnout from double shifts. “Adequate staff is proactive security,” said Carolyn J. Scruggs, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. “By shifting staff to surrounding facilities, we will not only provide coverage needed to deter incidents and make our facilities safer, but we can minimize the costly, constant and exhausting cycle of mandatory overtime, improve morale and reduce burnout.”
Staff transitions will prioritize placements at nearby Jessup sites, including the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women and Dorsey Run Correctional Facility, both on the same campus. These moves aim to bolster coverage at facilities already undergoing a $32 million electrical upgrade across the complex, which houses 4,500 people total. The Jessup campus remains a hub for medium- and maximum-security operations, with the nearby Jessup Correctional Institution serving maximum-security needs since 1991.
Incarcerated individuals will relocate in phases over several months, starting with those serving life sentences, aging residents and people requiring Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations. Remaining transfers go to sites matched by security level, such as the Maryland Correctional Institution at Hagerstown, Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown and North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland. Prisoner rights advocates, including the Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland, welcomed consolidation efforts but cautioned against sending people to distant western Maryland facilities with chronic shortages, which could worsen lockdowns and hinder family visits. Most Maryland prisoners originate from the Baltimore and Prince George’s County areas, making long-distance moves a barrier to re-entry support.
Programming at MCI-J, including adult basic education, high school equivalency, special education, vocational trades, job readiness, work release, public safety works and apprenticeships, will expand at receiving facilities. Post-secondary options through partners like the University of Baltimore, Georgetown University, Goucher College, Bowie State University and Wor-Wic Community College will continue, aligning with the Prison Education Delivery Reform Commission’s 2024 framework for statewide policies. The commission, established by Senate Bill 623, promotes evidence-based education to reduce recidivism, with studies showing participants 43% less likely to reoffend.
“After careful evaluation, the decision to close MCI-J is a fiscally responsible step forward for our state,” said Atif Chaudhry, secretary of the Department of General Services. “By closing MCI-J, we’re saving Maryland taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in avoidable costs over the long term and refocusing our resources on more sustainable correctional solutions.”
This closure echoes past efforts to modernize Maryland’s aging infrastructure. In 2007, then-Gov. Martin O’Malley secretly transferred 850 people from the original House of Correction in Jessup amid safety concerns, demolishing the site later. The current plan avoids similar abruptness, partnering with AFSCME for staff support. Maryland’s incarceration rate stands at 288 per 100,000 residents, higher than many international peers, with women incarcerated at 49 per 100,000 — above rates in Canada and Europe. The state has commuted all death sentences to life terms since 2014, eliminating capital punishment executions, last carried out in 2005.
Anne Arundel County, home to 590,000 residents and the sprawling Jessup correctional complex, sees minimal direct economic ripple from the closure, as transfers keep jobs local. The county’s economy, driven by Fort Meade and the Port of Baltimore, absorbs such shifts routinely. Broader system reforms, including the stalled $1 billion therapeutic facility in Baltimore, face scrutiny from unions urging comprehensive overhauls rather than piecemeal closures.
Maryland’s correctional framework, governed by the 1970 Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Act, emphasizes rehabilitation alongside security. The Division of Correction operates under standards from the American Correctional Association, with facilities like Patuxent Institution offering maximum-security treatment programs. Re-entry initiatives, coordinated by the Reentry Unit, provide resource packets and community linkages to cut recidivism, which hovers at 40% statewide. As transfers unfold, the department will monitor placements to ensure access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment, addressing root causes in a system serving diverse needs from pretrial detention to long-term custody.
