Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has ordered a review of whether employees in the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement wrote other letters supporting people involved in the criminal justice system, after a senior official’s letter for Tyree Reynolds drew scrutiny. Scott said Tuesday, Oct. 13, that Mark Mason remains MONSE’s chief of victim services. “Nothing has changed with his position,” the mayor said. Mason wrote to a judge on behalf of Reynolds, describing him as a former mentee and expressing confidence that he would not return to violence. The letter, which used MONSE letterhead, also said the office would help Reynolds find housing, employment and therapeutic support after his release. It named community groups We Our Us and the PEACE Team as possible partners. Scott has said MONSE leadership did not approve the letter and that employees may no longer write similar letters. He said the new review will look for other letters written on agency letterhead or through other channels. The mayor did not say how many might exist or whether Mason violated any policy in place at the time. “This isn’t a MONSE letter. This is his letter,” Scott said when asked about the document. He maintained that Reynolds was not released because of it and said judges and prosecutors make decisions about sentence modifications and release. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates has offered a different view of the letter’s possible influence, saying it may have “tilted the scales.” Bates said his office did not oppose Reynolds’ sentence modification in part because prosecutors were honoring an agreement made before he became state’s attorney. Reynolds, who had been serving time after pleading guilty to first-degree assault and a weapons offense stemming from a 2021 shooting, is now charged with the murder of 12-year-old Khloe Ishway. Ishway was shot and killed at a youth football game in West Baltimore on Oct. 3, eight days after Reynolds’ release. The murder charge is an allegation; the case remains subject to the criminal justice process. Scott criticized the focus on MONSE’s letter, saying attention should center on the actions of those responsible for Ishway’s death. The review is expected to address unanswered questions about what rules governed employee letters and what support, if any, MONSE provided after Reynolds’ release.