“Flawed from the Inception”: 167 Years of Maltreatment at the Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School

Caroline R. Alder

The Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School, a juvenile detention facility (“JDF”) in Baltimore County, Maryland, opened its doors in 1855 with the goal of rehabilitating the state’s most troubled children. In the time since, it has become synonymous with poor living conditions, abuse, and neglect. Reports and investigations have resulted in public outrage and attempts at reform every few years, but the problems that exist at Hickey today are essentially the same ones that existed a century and a half ago, and there is little reason to believe that this will ever change.

While Hickey may be infamous, it is far from the only JDF with a reputation for inhumane conditions—in fact, it is not even the only one in Maryland. However, the reality that Hickey is not unique is exactly what makes it worthy of study. 167 years of evidence paints a picture of not only a facility that is beyond repair, but a system that is beyond repair. As author and journalist Nell Bernstein observed in her book Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, the national model for the incarceration of children is “flawed from the inception, failed by every measure, subject to one renovation after another, yet impervious (to date) to the genuine transformation its faulty premise and abysmal performance demand.”

This Comment will explain why Hickey and its counterparts across the country cannot be reformed and should be closed instead. Part I will provide an overview of the poor conditions found in JDFs nationwide. Part II will trace the history of Hickey from its founding to present day. Part III will explain why the time is right to close Hickey. Part IV will explore what alternatives to juvenile incarceration would look like in Maryland.