Posted on 12/09/25
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 9, 2025 - A recent report from Maryland’s Commission of Juvenile Justice Reform recommended the state stop charging youths as adults for serious crimes, including murder and rape.
The report said the practice fails to protect communities and disproportionately affects children of color. The report recommends having all cases start in juvenile court.
Rich Gibson, Howard County state’s attorney, told C4 and Bryan Nehman on Tuesday that he supports change, but the state needs to do a better job of reforming youths.
“No one is eager to lock up children, but we do need to have accountability measures in place that keep the community safe,” Gibson said.
Charging juveniles as adults means many are held in adult detention centers while awaiting trial. The exception is in Baltimore City, which has a separate facility for youths.
“The idea of sending more kids to DJS [Department of Juvenile Services] would be less problematic if DJS was at this moment performing well with the current caseload of kids they have,” Gibson said.