Maryland. State Board of Prison Control

Consisting of three paid members appointed by the governor, the State Board of Prison Control was established in 1916 to consolidate state authority over Maryland's penal system. The 1916 legislation abolished the managerial boards of the Maryland Penitentiary and the Maryland House of Correction, vesting the new board with "full power, authority and responsibility to manage and control the [two] institutions" (Laws of 1916, ch. 556).

The Board of Prison Control was concerned primarily with prisoner welfare. For instance, the board was required to maintain a record of all disciplinary action taken against convicts, assuring that a physician was present in all cases of corporal punishment. Also, in an effort to remove insane convicts from the prison system (considered a chronic problem), the board was empowered to summon the State Lunacy Commission to examine and pass judgment upon the sanity of any inmate.

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