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Hi! Welcome to our website. We are glad you came to visit and hope that you will find the site both interesting and informative. We are the local chapter of CURE, a national organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., and chapters throughout the United States. Our main goal is the reform of the criminal justice system particularly the prison system.
CURE stands for Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants. National directors, Charlie and Pauline Sullivan, started CURE in the early seventies in Texas. They became interested in the penal system after their personal experiences with the prison system during the sixties during anti-war demonstrations. They had successes in Texas and came to Washington to start a national organization. Since that time CURE has continued to grow throughout the United States.
Some might think that an organization devoted to prison and justice reform is soft on crime. We do not support crime. We are sympathetic with the plight of crime victims and we do not support crime. We feel, however, that there are different ways to approach the problem. From the statistics on crime, anyone will soon realize that our present criminal justice and penal system is ineffective. Our prison population continues to grow at a rapid rate. The prison industry is the number one growth industry in this country. Most offenders will be released back into the community. Today's prisoners are tomorrow's neighbors. Do you want your future neighbors to come out of prison having been treated humanely and having received education and training to become contributing members of society or do you want them to come out having been mistreated with a chip on their shoulder ready to reoffend? I think we all have the same answer and that is the answer CURE is working for. For help in transitioning back into the community from prison, please check our resources
In addition to this, we are also concerned about the fairness and accuracy of the criminal justice system. Lately, many read regularly in the news and watch on television the many stories that feature prisoners who have been released from prison and death row because they were wrongly convicted. Our concern about the numerous errors in administration of "justice" is one of the reasons that we support the abolition of the death penalty. It is sexually, racially, and economically biased.
Members of our group also support the abolition of the death penalty because it is inhumane and inconsistent with the principles of rehabilative justice. Criminal sentences are not only intended to punish offenders, they are meant to afford rehabilative opportunities. Administration of this ultimate punishment denies the offender this opportunity. Furthermore, whether or not a rehabilitative opportunity is utilized, the concept of an eye for an eye leaves us blind. The United States is one of the few remaining countries in the world that supports the death penalty.
Our group is made up of families and friends of prisoners and others who are interested in the humane treatment of prisoners and the reform of the criminal justice system so that criminals can be rehabilitated to be productive members of our society. If you share these interests, please join us at our next meeting or email us at mdcure@curenational.org. We look forward to meeting you or hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Members of Maryland CURE