Demolition Begins At 'One Of The Worst Prisons In America'

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan hit the Baltimore City Detention Center with a bulldozer at an event he said was symbolic for both the city and the state. Demolition of the jail began Thursday at the facility that has been vacant since Hogan abruptly shut it down in 2015, after he declared it "a disgrace" due to the dangerous conditions and corruption it housed.

"Four years ago I stood right here in this exact spot to announce that we were immediately shutting down the antiquated and notoriously unsafe Baltimore City men's detention center," Hogan said. "For too long this facility had the distinction of being one of the worst prisons in America. Its longstanding state of disrepair made this detention center dangerous not only for the people who worked here but for the individuals who were housed here as well."

The roof was crumbling, and there were ongoing flooding and sewage issues. Some structures on the jail's 8-acre campus were built before the Civil War and predated standards for penal facilities.

"For years there were complaints about blind corners," Hogan said. "Corruption ran rampant, with gang members given free rein to essentially run the facility."

In 2013, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland indicted 27 correctional officers and more than a dozen inmates as part of an investigation into the Black Guerrilla Family, which was operating within the facility. Members of the gang conspired with officers to smuggle drugs, money and cell phones inside the jail.

Forty people were convicted as a result of the case, including 24 correctional officers, the U.S. Attorney reported in 2015.

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"For decades, there were calls to shut down this jail, which went unanswered by elected leaders," Hogan said.

When he closed the jail in 2015, he declared it "a black eye on our state" and the "worst prison in America," noting it was the only city detention center run by the state government.

"Today, we are taking the next important step forward," Hogan said Thursday, to "bring an end to the long, ugly history of deplorable conditions at this jail."

After the jail's demolition, the governor said something new would be built in its place.

A "therapeutic detention center" will be constructed to provide substance abuse and mental health services as well as reentry programming, according to the governor, who called it a "much-needed resource" and a "transformative facility."

The therapeutic detention center will reportedly house up to 1,400 people.

"This site which was long a source of embarrassment and shame for the city and for the state will now become a beacon of hope for those struggling with addiction," for people "to heal, to recover and to turn their lives around. This truly is an historic day for Baltimore City and for the state of Maryland," Hogan said.

First, 39 structures will be removed, according to a statement from the governor's office. Buildings that are vacant and not historically significant will be taken down first.

The Board of Public Works approved a $27.5 million contract for the demolition project in June, the statement said.

Here are plans for demolition, courtesy of the governor's office:

The state's corrections secretary applauded the change.

"Governor Hogan’s leadership in closing this facility and today’s actions ... mark a new beginning," saod Robert L. Gree, secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He said the "purpose-built treatment facility" that is to be designed "will help countless families break the cycle of addiction."

Watch the press conference announcing the start of demolition: