Second Chances Resource Library

Nearly 200 people who had been given life sentences in Maryland, primarily for murder or rape, were released from prison after serving 30+ years after a court found that the jury instructions given in their cases were unconstitutional. The release created a natural case study from which Maryland and other states can learn. This report looks at that evidence. Most notably, in the six years since the decision, only five out of the 188 people released under the Unger ruling returned to prison for violating parole or a new crime – less than 3 percent.