Maryland's new prisons chief

John Rowley, a warden for a medium-security prison in Jessup, has been named the new head of Maryland's prisons, according to the Baltimore Sun. He has pledged to help figure out how to improve security in the prison system, though some, including an official with a major prison guards' union, are skeptical that the Ehrlich administration is committed to real reform.

While jail may be dangerous for the guards, it's a nightmare for the inmates. Not only is sexual assault a real possibility for many of them, but they're likely to get AIDS as a result. Somehow I don't think dealing with this problem is on Ehrlich's -- or even O'Malley's -- agenda.

Tags: Maryland, prisons, AIDS, sexual assault