HAGERSTOWN, Md. – A gang fight that sent eight inmates to the hospital earlier this month has become the latest in a series of violent incidents drawing renewed attention to conditions inside Roxbury Correctional Institution – where lawmakers, union officials and former correctional leaders say chronic staffing shortages and declining morale have become growing concerns.
The Hagerstown-area prison has seen two inmate homicides this spring, the removal of its warden and chief of security, administrative action against correctional officers and mounting criticism over staffing levels and leadership.
State officials dispute that staffing problems caused the recent violence, but they acknowledge Western Maryland remains one of the state’s most difficult regions for recruiting and retaining correctional officers.
The latest incident occurred during the Fourth of July holiday weekend when a fight involving suspected gang members left eight inmates suffering stab wounds. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said security protocols were in place and maintained the attack was unrelated to staffing levels.
The violence came just weeks after another troubling case at Roxbury.
In May, inmate Colin Wolf, 32, was found dead inside his cell. State police and corrections officials are investigating potential criminal misconduct involving prison staff after questions emerged about whether required inmate checks were properly performed.
Following the incident, the prison’s warden and chief of security left their positions, 19 correctional officers were placed under administrative charges and eight medical staff members were barred from working in state correctional facilities while the investigation continues.
Those incidents are part of a broader increase in violence throughout Maryland’s prison system. Since 2023, the state has investigated 32 inmate homicides, more than half of all inmate killings recorded since 2015, according to state data cited by Maryland Matters.
For correctional officers, however, the discussion extends beyond individual acts of violence.
Linda He, spokesperson for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Maryland Council 3, which represents correctional employees, said officers are routinely being required to work 16-hour shifts because of staffing shortages, contributing to burnout and making it increasingly difficult to retain experienced employees.
“They’re mandating folks to work 16-hour shifts over and over again,” He told the media. “They’re losing the folks who are really experienced because they’re burned out. Why do this work when the pay isn’t ever going to keep up or make the work worth it?”
State Sen. Paul Corderman (R-Washington /Frederick) whose district includes Roxbury and two other state correctional facilities, visited the prison after the July violence and said staffing has been one of the biggest challenges he has seen during his years in the General Assembly.
“God bless the staff there now,” Corderman said. “But things must improve.”
Corderman later called for stronger state attention to conditions at Western Maryland prisons, including considering National Guard assistance if staffing shortages become severe enough.
Correctional officials say the department has made significant progress in rebuilding its workforce. According to corrections officials, the statewide correctional officer vacancy rate has fallen from 15.36 percent before Gov. Wes Moore (D) took office to 8.42 percent today after hundreds of positions were restored that had previously been eliminated from the state budget.
Officials also acknowledged, however, that recruiting and retaining officers remains particularly difficult in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore.
Lloyd “Pete” Waters, a former Maryland prison warden who writes a regular column for LocalNews1, believes the recent incidents point to deeper structural problems rather than isolated failures.
Waters, who spent 12 years as warden of the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown after helping stabilize the prison following riots in the early 1990s, said excessive overtime, inexperienced staff and weak supervision have created a dangerous environment throughout the state’s correctional system.
“I fear an officer will be killed somewhere down the road,” Waters said. “Most of the seasoned officers have retired. Leadership throughout is very weak. Overtime use is wearing staff out.”
Whether those concerns reflect isolated problems at Roxbury or broader challenges across Maryland’s correctional system remains an open question.
Over the coming weeks, LocalNews1 will examine staffing levels, officer retention, workplace conditions, prison leadership and the state’s efforts to address violence inside Maryland correctional facilities through interviews with current and former correctional employees, lawmakers and state officials.
