MD Bill gives closure to family of ECI Officer killed over 20 years ago

MARYLAND – Many bills that come out of Annapolis have sweeping changes that can impact thousands of people but one piece of legislation that was signed into law last session is much more personal and aims to give one family closure after over 20 years.

Senate Bill 244 and House Bill 240 changes the law to allow the family of an Eastern Correctional Institution officer murdered in a gang-related hit- to receive a full active service death payment for the state going back to his death in 2001.

The murder of Officer Greg Collins, was unsolved for nearly 20 years until a new source of information implicated his killer who was arrested and convicted in 2021.

With the details of the case now settled, Delegate Charles Otto says he worked to make sure a technicality in the law wouldn’t hold up the money his family deserved, marking his death as an Active Duty Death in the eyes of the state.

“The way the law was written it could not happen and we were successful and had a compelling argument it’s not breaking the bank of the state we can’t make them whole but we can encourage corrections officers and first responders to know we have their back,” Otto said.

He tells us under the previous wording the family would have only qualified for payments going back to 2011, but can now qualify for payments fo the full period following Collins’ death.