Former Baltimore Del. Cheryl Glenn released from federal prison

Cheryl Glenn, the former state delegate from Baltimore convicted of taking bribes, has been released from prison and will serve out the rest of her sentence in home confinement. Glenn, 69, who reported to prison at the end of September to serve a two-year sentence, had filed a sealed emergency motion Dec. 14 seeking compassionate release, which federal prosecutors opposed.

Her attorney withdrew the motion late Thursday, saying the Bureau of Prisons had released Glenn to serve the remainder of her sentence on home confinement. Her attorney did not comment Friday, and the court filings do not indicate why she was seeking emergency release. Records show her sentence is scheduled to expire in June 2022.

Wardens have the discretion to change the terms of an inmate’s sentence under the CARES Act, and defendants have been asking judges for relief when such efforts are unsuccessful.

Glenn is a Democrat first elected in 2006 to the House of Delegates. She established herself as a leading proponent of the use of marijuana for medical purposes and served as the chair of the Baltimore delegation until her resignation from office a year ago. The state’s medical cannabis commission is named in honor of her late mother.

She pleaded guilty to charges that she asked for and received bribes to carry out political favors related to the industry she helped build. During a 2018 meeting to discuss cannabis licenses, prosecutors said, Glenn offered a simple answer when asked how companies could secure a license without the help of expensive lobbyists: “They know God and Cheryl Glenn,” she told a would-be license holder.

In addition to her prison sentence, Glenn was ordered to pay $18,750 in restitution.