The Maryland General Assembly has passed a bill to make twice-convicted drug-dealer eligible for parole, according to this story by Lisa Rein in the Washington Post (h/t Corrections Sentencing). Apparently in Maryland parole can be granted after a mere quarter of the sentence has been served. Gov. O'Malley is undecided whether to sign it. "But he faces a conflict between his liberal sensibilities and his experience as a two-term mayor of Baltimore, where he saw daily homicides committed by drug addicts." That says a lot about "liberal sensibilities."

There is much discussion about the importance of treatment for drug addicts. But the devil is in the details. A mandatory treatment law must have teeth, or else it is just a fraud on the public, promising treatment but really just lowering sentences.