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Democrat Martin O'Malley faces criticism for massive prison scandal in Maryland
 [FREEBEACON] A developing scandal in the Maryland prison system could pose a major obstacle for Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's presidential ambitions, critics say.Incarcerated members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang, with help from female prison guards, hijacked the Baltimore City Detention Center over the past few years, according to federal charges announced earlier this month. Gang leaders allegedly ran street operations on cell phones smuggled in by the corrections officers, built a robust drug trade behind bars, and impregnated several of the guards. Republicans say this could make for a potent political attack against O'Malley, who ran for governor on a tough-on-crime platform in 2006 and claimed he drastically reduced criminal incidents during his time as Baltimore mayor. "It's the kind of thing that, whether you're a conservative or a liberal you can't explain it, you can't justify it, you can't defend it," said former Republican state politician Don Murphy. "It would be the big, 20-point type on the fliers that went into homes of unaffiliated voters." Maryland GOP executive director David Ferguson noted O'Malley's history of promoting his crime-reduction efforts. "It's going to be difficult for him to distance himself from this because he's been involved with the penal system at every level of his career," said Ferguson. Critics are already making the connection to former Democratic Gov. Michael Dukakis, who was pummeled during his 1988 presidential campaign for his "prison furlough" policy that led to the release of Wilie Horton. "If Martin O'Malley wants to be president, he could learn a thing or two from Michael Dukakis," said Murphy. "The only thing worse than letting the prisoners run wild outside the prison is letting them run the prison." Posted by: Fred 2013-05-01 |
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