In 2013, inmates from JCI helped remove asbestos from contaminated buildings at the Maryland House of Correction.[3] A lifer at JCI, Larry Bratt, wrote about dying in prison.[4] Inmates at JCI participated in the Beyond Scared Straight program.[5] Inmates at JCI participate in the Prison Puppy Raising Program.[6] A 2010 phone call to a college class by Marshall Conway, a former black panther in Baltimore, from inside JCI inspired an award-winning documentary, Comrade Sunshine.[7]
Inmates have a library that they use for legal research and writing, writing letters, and other purposes.[9]
JCI has a college program, called the Prison Scholars Program, run by Joshua Miller.[10] Many of the courses in the JCI Prison Scholars Program are on philosophy.[11] A chapter in "The Beautiful Prison" discusses a philosophy course run by Loyola University Professor Drew Leder and the scholars at JCI. The chapter is titled: "The Enlightened Prison: Drew Leder and the Jessup Correctional Institution Scholars."[12]
Starting in August 2016, the University of Baltimore has begun offering bachelor's degrees JCI prisoners in Community Studies and Civic Engagement.[13] This program is a part of the US Department of Education's Second Chance Pell Experiment,[14] which involves 66 other universities. However, University of Baltimore is the first to implement the program.
Notable incidents
In 2008, Kelvin Poke, a man who was serving a life sentence at JCI, escaped from a local hospital and was killed by police.[15]
In 2012, a man killed his cellmate and eventually pleaded guilty to the crime.[16]
In 2015, three correctional officers were placed on administrative leave after an inmate was found dead inside a cell full of steam.[17] Visits were halted after an outbreak of an illness.[18] A former JCI guard was suspected of shootings in Maryland.[19]
In August 2016, an inmate was stabbed to death by other inmates in the F building. Officers responded to the call of a fight around 10 AM and found the victim, John A. O'Sullivan lying on the floor with multiple stab and puncture wounds.[20]
In May 2023, Nicholas Joseph Delfosse, an inmate at JCI, was found in his cell with multiple injuries. An autopsy revealed Delfosse was stabbed to death and his death was ruled a homicide. [21]
