Bowling Brook Death Ruled Homicide

The news just gets worse and worse when it comes to juvenile detention in Maryland. The Sun is reporting that the death of Isaiah Simmons III has been classified as a homocide.

"The medical examiner's office told us the manner of death was homicide, and the cause of death was sudden death by restraint," said Danielle Carter, the sister of the dead youth, Isaiah Simmons of East Baltimore. "That's all we have so far. They haven't released a full report to us yet."

A medical examiner's ruling that a death was a homicide does not mean a crime has been committed, but that a person has died as a result of the actions of another person or people. It is the responsibility of the state's attorney's office to determine if criminal charges are warranted

This is just one more example of the terrible conditions at our correctional facilities throughout the state, but specifically at juvenile centers. This is especially troubling because it is juvenile criminals in which society places the majority of our hope for rehabilitation. When the conditions are out of control like this, its makes one question whether our juvenile justice system is truly serving the interests of the people.