The Abuse of Solitary Confinement
In the past three decades, solitary confinement has been embraced by the vast majority of states to control violence and impose discipline.
Company’s offer to buy, run state prisons meets with rejection
The rebuff by five of the 48 states that got the offer may signal prison privatization’s waning popularity.
Prisons Rethink Isolation, Saving Money, Lives and Sanity
PARCHMAN, Miss. — The heat was suffocating, and the inmates locked alone in cells in Unit 32, the state’s super-maximum-security prison, wiped away sweat as they lay on concrete slab beds.
74-year-old prisoner dies of undisclosed illness
WARREN, Maine — A 74-year-old inmate from the Maine State Prison who was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness on Feb. 28 has died, according to the Maine Department of Corrections.
Maine prison sees more minorities than the rest of the state
WARREN, Maine — Maine’s state prison is a bit more racially diverse than the rest of Maine, according to the Department of Corrections. The department released a database of prisoner information earlier this month, which among other facts details the ethnicity of each man in Maine State Prison.
Maine makes public new database of inmates and felons on probation
Thirty-six convicted murderers and 24 kidnappers live on probation in Maine communities, a new database created for the Maine Department of Corrections shows. The website allows people to search through the database of state’s 9,160 adult prisoners and probationers.
Maine lawmakers kill private-prison bill
State officials found no companies interested in building and running a facility for older inmates.
Report finds deficiencies in health care services for Maine inmates
AUGUSTA, Maine — Some prisoners at Maine’s correctional facilities are going without medication and are not getting timely treatment, according to a report presented to lawmakers Friday.
Prisoner’s death inspires new opera
BELFAST, Maine — When Maine State Prison inmate Victor Valdez died in custody in November 2009, it sparked an outcry among prisoner and human rights advocates.
Bangor jail inmate found hanging in cell dies at hospital
BANGOR, Maine — A Penobscot County Jail inmate who was found hanging in his cell on Friday after being sentenced to 4½ years in prison for drug trafficking has died in a Bangor hospital.
Lawyer of inmate who died in Maine prison knew his client received life sentence
WARREN, Maine — Before Mary Hoskins stepped into prison to begin serving two years for arson, her attorney knew it was a life sentence because she had terminal cancer. Mary Hoskins, 50, died Thursday, exactly one week after she entered the Maine Correctional Center’s Women’s Center in Windham.
22-year-old inmate dies in Kennebec County Jail
AUGUSTA, Maine — Authorities at the Kennebec County Jail are investigating the sudden death of a 22-year-old inmate.
Mother glad her son died in cell rather than living out prison term
MINOT, Maine — Jeannine Greenleaf hates to admit it, but she is relieved her son is dead. In fact, she prayed for his death.
State buys back land from warden, lost $2,000 on the deal
THOMASTON, Maine — At a net cost of $2,000, the state has bought back about 5 acres of coastal property sold in a controversial deal to the Maine State Prison warden.
Cruel America
Roars of applause for executions at the GOP debate, official approval of torture, barbaric prison conditions, obstruction of aid to storm victims and children in need—is our nation descending into barbarism?
Women settle with state in prison guard sex case
The two will receive a total of $125,000 after they sued two men who were guards in Windham.
Cruel Isolation
For many decades, the civilized world has recognized prolonged isolation of prisoners in cruel conditions to be inhumane, even torture.