The ACLU of Maine released the following statement in response to LD 1577, a governor's bill to allow the transfer of mental health patients to the Maine State Prison or other correctional facility. The ACLU opposed a similar attempt in 2013.
The following can be attributed to Oamshri Amarasingham, advocacy director at the ACLU of Maine:
"Maine has a criminal justice system to determine who goes to prison. If someone is determined to be incompetent to stand trial or not criminally responsible, that person has not been convicted of a crime and does not belong in prison. This bill would send people to prison who have not been convicted of a crime - and that goes against everything our justice system stands for."
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