Anthony Muhammad
Sentenced at 15 years old, Anthony Muhammad spent 29 years in prison. Under a youth sentencing reform law, he was able to return home and now serves his community as an advocate and mentor.
Related to: Sentencing Reform
When asked who he is, Anthony Muhammad says that he is a son to a wonderful, loving mother, and a self-proclaimed “mama’s boy.” A brother to seven siblings, a friend, a mentor, and “just a good guy;” he does not have many childhood memories. However, Anthony (as he prefers to be addressed), recalls his fifth grade graduation as a point of joy. It was his first experience in a suit and tie, which is one of his favorite outfits. As he stepped in front of the audience during that ceremony, he was tasked with embodying Martin Luther King, Jr. and reciting his “I Have A Dream” speech from memory.
Today, Anthony dreams of a world with redemption. To him, redemption is a second chance to do “it” over and do it right. While Anthony was released from prison under the Juvenile Restoration Act (JRA) in Maryland, a law allowing minors who were sentenced as adults to ask a judge to consider reducing their sentence after they have served 20 years in prison, he is very familiar with the parole process. When JRA passed, he was undergoing the process to be released under parole, awaiting his risk assessment evaluation at Patuxent Institution in Jessup, Maryland. While there, he was recommended for release under JRA and granted time served.
Of the parole process, he says that it is common that when incarcerated persons are presented with their first parole hearing in Maryland, it results in a re-hearing with a 10-year waiting period. He experienced this first-hand. When it came time for his second hearing, he decided to hold off and wait for the JRA decision, knowing he’d have a better opportunity at freedom since Maryland wasn’t paroling anyone with a life sentence.
Since 1995, Maryland has required governor approval for the release of incarcerated persons serving life. During his tenure, Maryland Governor Glendening announced that he would not be granting parole for anyone serving a life sentence. In response, the state’s parole board would rarely send parole approvals to the governor’s desk. Subsequent Maryland governors largely upheld Glendening’s promise until 2021 when gubernatorial input was removed from the process.
Anthony says that every year from 1995 to 2022, incarcerated persons advocated for the passage of bills that would remove governors from the parole process. In Maryland, Anthony says that incarcerated persons were told by parole commissioners that they saw them as great candidates for parole, but also knew their petitions would not be granted with the process as it stood in the state of Maryland.
Since the removal of the governor from the parole process in Maryland, several people have come home on parole. Anthony sees the process as “re-opening up.” He wouldn’t say that the process is working but does think that it is heading in the right direction. Anthony believes that the consideration is more meaningful now and that those in charge seem to be taking the process more seriously. He still identifies risk assessments as another barrier in the parole process as they are not always equitable or timely, but he does believe the opportunity for freedom through parole is more important than moving for its removal altogether.
Since his release, Anthony is now an advisor to the Maryland Parole Partnership with the ACLU of Maryland, a community engagement specialist and reentry coordinator with We Our Us, and a youth mentor with Baltimore Brother’s program.
