The Baltimore city jail is horrifying

A new ACLU lawsuit has exposed yet another grim side of a beleaguered city

Baltimore jail
(Image credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Baltimore has had a rough couple of months. After the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, there were protests, marches, and small-scale riots. Now May has recorded the greatest number of homicides there since 1971.

All these issues are centered around a broken criminal justice system, but thus far none have directly involved one of that system's most important parts: the Baltimore city jail. That changed yesterday, with a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, along with the Public Justice Center and the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.