Our View: Jail is the wrong way to make offenders pay fines
It’s not only unfair to incarcerate those who can’t pay, it’s a bad way to use public funds.
Taxpayers lose as Maine counties jail indigents over unpaid fines
An ACLU of Maine study finds many inmates are behind bars solely for not paying court costs, but the burden on the state is more than what they owe.
Pregnant prisoners should not be in shackles
Maine is the only New England state that allows this practice.
Female prison inmates knit blankets and bears for abused kids
YORK - Among the 16 York area yarn and fabric shops that showcased their wares at the second annual Fiber Marketplace Saturday at the York Harbor Inn was a special table that featured teddy bears and blankets created by female Maine prison inmates.
Our View: Jail time for unpaid fines unfairly penalizes poverty
A bill now before the Maine Legislature justifiably targets what amount to debtors' prisons.
Judge praises progress at Maine’s Riverview Psychiatric Center
During a hearing on a 1990 consent decree involving former AMHI patients, hospital officials describe a new approach to integrating patients committed through Maine's criminal justice system.
Too many people incarcerated in ‘debtors prison,’ de facto mental health wards
Now that lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage have found a short-term fix to the county jails funding problems, they can turn their attention to the underlying cause. Maine, like other states, has jails that are over capacity, not because crime is on the rise, but because too many people are incarcerated for too long.
Our View: The death penalty wrong for Maine
Our state's life without parole is the right punishment for the worst of the worst.
Oppose a new policy that punishes incarcerated Maine writers
We, the undersigned—a national community of writers, writing teachers and concerned Americans—are writing to oppose some of the proposed changes in Maine’s Department of Corrections discipline policy Ch. 10 Subsection 20.01.
Lawmakers postpone inquiry into hazing of Maine State Prison guards
Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, co-chairman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, says the committee will question Department of Corrections officials in December.
At state-run Riverview, danger and dysfunction pervasive
A Telegram investigation of the Augusta facility unearths troubling evidence of a culture of abuse and a staff ill-equipped to cope with the mentally ill.
Report details accusations against Maine prison guard charged with sexually assaulting inmate
York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette has called a press conference for Friday morning about recent indictments against current and former corrections officers.
Seven current and former York County Jail guards indicted
York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette says the indictments against the officers and three others stem from smuggling contraband into the jail.
Riverview patient faces charges after rampage
Charles D. Miles is accused of terrorizing and criminal mischief causing $4,370 in damage at the psychiatric hospital.
Former Maine prison guard charged with sexually assaulting female inmate
Bret Butterfield, 23, of Auburn is being held on $50,000 bail in the York County Jail on a felony charge of gross sexual assault.
Voices From the Cracks, Whispers from our Incarcerated
This blog is a project with the purpose of allowing prisoners to express themselves in the public sphere. We believe that visibility is vital to undermining the systems that are created to oppress and silence the marginalized. This blog is not a celebration of crimes nor in anyway does it seek to invalidate the experience of victims, only recognize that prisoners are still human, and need to be heard.
Our View: Guards should not sink into the culture of Maine State Prison
Allegations of hazing by state employees raise troubling questions and demand public airing.
Ex-jail guard gets 60 days for sexually assaulting inmate
ROCKLAND, Maine — A former Knox County Jail guard will spend 60 days in jail after being convicted Tuesday of sexually assaulting a female inmate more than two years ago.
De Blasio Setting Up a Test: Prison Reformer vs. Rikers Island
Joseph Ponte, New York’s newly appointed correction commissioner, has plans for reform. But Rikers will be a far bigger challenge than Maine’s jail system, where he instituted key changes.