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Ben Conarck

Ben

Ben Conarck joined The Baltimore Banner as a criminal justice reporter in July 2022. Previously, he worked for the Miami Herald as a healthcare reporter and led the newspaper’s award-winning coverage on the coronavirus pandemic. He was a member of the investigative team studying the forensics of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South collapse, work that was recognized with a staff Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. Prior to his time in Miami, Conarck was an investigative reporter covering criminal justice at the Florida Times-Union, where he received the Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award and the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting for his series with ProPublica on racial profiling by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Latest content by Ben Conarck

Aberdeen Police said they are investigating the fatal shooting of Jai'den Winchester.
Havre de Grace High football player, 14, killed in shooting; 16-year-old charged
Jai’den Alexander Winchester was pronounced dead at the scene.
The exterior of the Baltimore City Central Booking and Intake Center.
Baltimore jail health care will remain under independent scrutiny, despite state’s efforts
The state has devoted significant legal resources toward getting out of a four-year-old settlement agreement.
Satellite imagery of the Western Correction Institution in Cumberland. Lester DeShazor alleged that correctional officers at the prison targeted him for retaliation.
Maryland prisoner airlifted to hospital after fire at Western Correctional Institution
That prisoner was airlifted Tuesday night by Maryland State Police to a nearby hospital “for treatment of his injuries.”
Baltimore jail officials lost track of 90,000 methadone pills. The state kept it quiet
90,000 methadone pills went missing from the Baltimore jail, leaked documents reveal
Baltimore jail officials lost track of nearly 92,500 methadone pills — controlled substances that carry a high street value — over a three-month period.
AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the union representing state workers at prisons, juvenile detention centers, state hospitals and public defenders held a press conference in Hagerstown on Oct. 9, 2024 to call attention to conditions at state-run facilities.
Years to fix a prison fence? Maryland CO’s union says working conditions are dire
One of Maryland’s biggest unions has been sounding the alarm on state-run prisons. Is anyone listening?
Gov. Wes Moore announced that the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will cancel millions of unpaid parole debts for more than 6,700 people.
Maryland cancels millions in unpaid parole debt as state moves forward on waiving fees
Gov. Wes Moore announced that the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will cancel millions of unpaid parole debts for more than 6,700 people.
He spent months in jail. The crime? Annoying Baltimore County Police and 911 operators
In Baltimore County, people who show signs of mental illness are being criminally charged for repeatedly calling 911 and crisis hotlines.
A satellite image of Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup in Anne Arundel County (Google Earth).
New state prison watchdog is ‘full steam ahead’ after governor appoints agency head
Gov. Wes Moore appointed Yvonne Briley-Wilson as the head of the new state agency that will examine prison conditions.
ROCA members playing basketball in the court where the shooting happened.
Police identify victim killed in East Baltimore shooting that also injured 7
A 36-year-old man died and the other conditions range from stable to critical condition.
A Baltimore Police vehicle blocks off Regester Street in Fells Point on April 14, 2024.
After seven years under federal oversight, Baltimore Police aren’t exiting anytime soon
The Baltimore Police Department continues to make slow and steady progress in a wholesale reform effort mandated by its agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and a federal judge, but hopes of exiting that oversight anytime soon remain dim at best.
The exterior of the Baltimore City Central Booking and Intake Center on Feb. 6, 2024.
State destroyed key records on treatment of mentally ill Baltimore detainees, ACLU says
Many of the people incarcerated in the mental health unit are awaiting transfers to psychiatric facilities run by the Maryland Department of Health for evaluation or treatment.
‘I am going to kill,’ a Maryland prisoner warned. And then he did.
Daniel Myers was sentenced last week to 50 additional years in prison for first-degree murder. He had pleaded guilty in February to killing Nicholas Delfosse in May 2023.
The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown conducted the investigation in partnership with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
‘It’s your word against mine’: Women’s prison officer pleads guilty to misconduct
The charged officer was found by investigators to have given a prisoner “unauthorized privileges,” and to have spoken to her on a recorded phone line more than 800 times in three months.
A prisoner endured months of sexual abuse. Some officers who played a part still have jobs.
The story of Brandon Bowden reveals disturbing truths about the Maryland prison system.
Exterior of the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center at 550 E Madison St.
As record heat roils Baltimore, jail detainees left ‘baking’ in cells without AC
The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, which runs Baltimore jails, confirmed on Wednesday that one of its facilities has been without air conditioning since Friday after a blower motor malfunctioned on a housing unit tier.

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