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January 10, 2007

Dramatic Maryland EXILE Television Commercial Targets Criminals Who Carry Guns

Features Voice of Emmy Award-Winning “Homicide” Star Andre Braugher

A dramatic Maryland EXILE television advertisement that warns criminals about the consequences of carrying a gun will start playing on Baltimore television stations this Thursday, announced United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. The advertisement was developed and produced specifically to convey the message of Maryland EXILE: Gun Crime = Jail Time.

“Every time a criminal picks up a gun, we want him to think about what will happen to him when he gets caught,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Many criminals learn about stiff federal sentences only after it is too late. This is a message for the criminals: if you carry a gun, expect to spend hard time in prison.”

The commercial opens with a young man watching television when his cell phone rings. After answering the telephone, he reaches for a gun. As he touches the gun, the man suddenly finds himself in a prison cell, with the door slamming shut. The voice-over then recites the names and sentences of three Baltimore criminals who were sentenced to lengthy federal sentences over the past year.

Actor Andre Braugher, who won an Emmy Award for his role as Detective Frank Pembleton in the television series “Homicide,” performs the voice-over.

The unique commercial differs from national public service announcements developed by the Project Safe Neighborhoods program in several respects. First, like the Maryland EXILE logo, it shows a gun. Second, unlike ads that focus on the defendants’ families, it shows criminals what will happen to them if they choose to carry a gun. Third, it uses the names of actual Baltimore criminals who are now serving long federal sentences far from home, with no probation and no parole.

Maryland EXILE is a unified and comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime that combines law enforcement efforts, community action and revitalization, and public awareness. Additional information about Maryland EXILE is available on the internet at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Exile/index.html.

The Baltimore EXILE partners will meet on January 24, 2007 to review the results of the first year of the EXILE strategy in Baltimore. The Baltimore EXILE partners include the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City; the Baltimore Police Department; the Division of Parole and Probation of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention; the United States Attorney’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the United States Marshals Service.