At the end of last week, Alysia, Claire and I toured the Maine
State Prison in
For those of you that haven’t been to a jail or prison, it’s hard to explain the feeling when you walk through the first door that clicks. As a person free to move without restriction, I immediately felt claustrophobic knowing I couldn’t quickly exit the room I had entered. During our tour, we were able to see the areas where inmates are kept in solitary confinement, including a special wing for inmates with serious mental illness; the ACLU of MAINE helped negotiate the creation of this sub-unit three years ago. Inmates in solitary spend 23 hours a day, five days a week in an individual cell with a bed and a toilet. Certain approved materials can be brought in, such as books or papers. Five days a week, prisoners in solitary confinement are shackled and taken for recreational time outside. Recreational time for an inmate in solitary consists of less than an hour of time outside, literally, in a cage. Two days a week, inmates are in solitary without any recreational time. It was disturbing to know that inmates with mental illness also live in these conditions.
I’m sure it goes without saying that observing the conditions
of solitary confinement was jarring… and a little surreal. I look forward to
working on Representative Schatz’s bill and moving toward a more humane
treatment of inmates in
For context on solitary confinement, read this article in the New Yorker on this issue.
