Brittany Horn

The News Journal

Legalize drugs and regulate them, says a retired Maryland police officer, and Wilmington's deadly reputation — along with the reputations of other major cities plagued by violence — will change.

"In my mind, I think the failing drug war equals Murdertown," said Major Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore City and Maryland State police officer who now works with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, an international nonprofit made up of criminal justice professionals advocating for drug policy.

Franklin's message resonated with Delawareans Sunday at the First Unitarian Church in Talleyville, where many came together to talk about "The Failing Drug War in 'Murdertown,'" a conversation focused on police and community relations. Joining Franklin were former state prosecutor and New Castle County Chief Administrative Officer Kathleen Jennings, Delaware State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry and Wilmington author and activist Patrice Gibbs.

All four agreed that change must occur to stop the continuous cycle of killings seen in Wilmington's streets and elsewhere, homicides Franklin largely attributes to the unregulated drug market. So far this year, 12 people have died by gunfire in the city, marking one of the deadliest starts to a year in recent history.

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Because so many of these issues making headlines in Delaware — including mass incarceration, sentencing reform and access to mental health and drug addiction treatment — come back to drug prohibition, Franklin said the change is simple and would benefit the state. It may also solve the fatal drug overdose rate, which last topped more than 300 people statewide.

"We're trying to solve a public health crisis with criminal justice solutions," Franklin said.

Jennings, who has helped take drug gangs and other violent offenders off Delaware's streets, agreed on the state of America's war against drugs.

"We can make a neighborhood safe for a day," Jennings said, "and then violence springs back up and we're back to where we began."

The racial disparities present in both Delaware's incarceration rates and the reasons many people end up in the criminal justice system, like systemic poverty, directly relate to the difficulties facing those with addiction, she said. In a largely white, suburban neighborhood, those using drugs have a far less chance of getting caught and of being charged with using near a school, church or park — all three locations that are hard to avoid in an urban setting.

"You see these things start to add up into disparities," Jennings added.

The skew has prompted leaders like Henry to suggest big changes, like letting all low-level offenders without violent crimes out of Delaware prisons to increase space within the state-run system. The issue remains particularly heated throughout the state after inmates at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center led a deadly takeover on Feb. 1 and killed a correctional officer.

The state has not charged anyone with crimes related to the killing and Delaware State Police, who are leading the investigation, said it could take months before more information is released.

Henry talked briefly about the prison siege Sunday, saying her heart remains heavy for what happened more than a month ago.

"It's also indicative of what's wrong with our prison system right now," she said, adding that many people incarcerated have minor charges.

That's why the approach needs to change, said activist Gibbs, and it needs to start with law enforcement.

"Addiction is criminalized," he said. "And it needs to be decriminalized. The culture has to change."

Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.