Maryland prisoners in numerous facilities are spending nearly all their days locked in their cells, preventing opportunities for education, recreation, recovery support and other services to such an extent that it violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, according to a letter from a prisoners’ rights advocacy group.

The Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland, which provides legal aid to state prisoners, wrote the state attorney general and corrections secretary last week to “raise urgent concern about the constitutional crisis unfolding” in the prison system, particularly at facilities on the Eastern Shore and in the Hagerstown area.

Stephen Meehan, principal counsel for the group, wrote that staff shortages at the facilities “have led to constant and indefinite lockdowns” and that “many facilities now regularly operate on a 23-and-1 schedule, limiting prisoners to just one hour outside their cells each day.”

“Originally used only for restricted housing, this practice has become routine for those assigned to the general population since the COVID-19 pandemic,” Meehan wrote.

A combination of under-staffed facilities, prolonged lockdowns and 23-and-1 schedules are worsening medical and mental health care, said Meehan, whose group is in contact with scores of prisoners in the state.

It’s also resulting in prisoners being denied access to many services, all while facing extreme heat without air conditioning, which Meehan said demonstrates that the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services “lacks the resources necessary to meet its constitutional obligations in custody and care of its incarcerated population without consistently violating the Eighth Amendment and Due Process Clause.”

The corrections department and the Maryland Office of Attorney General said they have received the letter and are reviewing it, but otherwise declined to comment.

The letter from the prisoners’ rights group echoes concerns raised by the union representing correctional officers and prisoners who have written to The Baltimore Banner.

State-run prisons are facing a variety of dire challenges. In addition to under-staffing and the resulting conditions, the Banner has reported on spiking assaults, a flood of contraband, and dilapidated, aging facilities.

In his letter, Meehan advocates for state leaders to “consider thoughtful decarcerating strategies,” such as early releases for low-risk prisoners and “strategic consolidation of housing units and facilities.” Some state-run prisons are better staffed than others.

The group has requested a response from the attorney general and corrections secretary by September 5.