In 2016, Marilyn Mosby published a paper outlining the need for police reform — then in 2021, the state legislature finally took up many of those reforms. Mosby has also successfully prosecuted over 20 police officers through the work of her police integrity unit. Ending mass incarceration and racial disparities is extremely important to Mosby.

In January of 2019, Mosby decided to stop prosecuting marijuana possession. In March of 2020, Mosby consulted with public health experts and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails, decided to stop prosecuting minor offenses like drug possession and sex work. She dismissed thousands of pending cases, and pushed the Governor to make early releases. A Johns Hopkins study showed that these individuals did not reoffend, and there were racial disparities associated with their arrest. Mosby partnered with public health organizations to support drug users and sex workers, and made the policies permanent.

In December of 2020, Mosby announced the creation of a Sentencing Review Unit (SRU) at the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO). The SRU will review cases of certain incarcerated people to determine whether the office supports their release. Maryland has a mass incarceration problem caused by lengthy and excessive sentences, which are disproportionately imposed on people of color. Her office’s duty to fairness and justice does not end at sentencing. Evidence shows that people age-out of crime, and revisiting harsh sentences demonstrates our belief in rehabilitation and redemption. The unit has released ten people.

Mosby also created the first Conviction Integrity Division in the State of Maryland which works to exonerate those that have been falsely accused or convicted of a crime. The unit successfully exonerated 10 people.

Mosby has a felony conviction rate of over 90% and aggressively focused her prosecutors on targeting violent criminals by creating a Gun Violence Enforcement Division that targets violent criminals and the total of their activities rather than just their violent acts, and a Criminal Strategies Unit that uses data and long-term intelligence gathering in partnership with BPD detectives to target the most heinous criminals in our city.