In a Capital News Service online article by Lucy Westcott sweeping problems in the US prison system were illuminated relating to the manner in which we incarcerate women, provide few services, and sometimes further their trauma. National context was provided by Mare Mauer from the Sentencing Project and Amy Fettig from the American Civil Liberties Union.  The article noted the impact of gender violence, poverty and drug policy on incarceration rates and the prison system’s ability to provide adequate services to women who need them. Maryland was featured heavily in the piece with women who had survived sexual assault and shackling during childbirth in the state system coming forward to tell their stories. Regarding shackling, A  Maryland Department of Public Safety representative pointed out that, “It’s the local jails in Maryland that have problems with shackling” and that there were varying policies from jail to jail. Local advocate from Power Inside offered that shackling should happen to no one, ever, and that greater transparency was needed to understand the extent of the use of shackling. Read the article HERE