If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you know how pleased we’ve been in recent months at the successful changes taking place at the Maine State Prison's Special Management Unit, where the use of solitary confinement is down by more than 70%. Yesterday we took a trip to Warren to see what change looks like first hand and to talk with the people on the ground making it happen.
For me, making my first visit to Maine State Prison, it was a sobering experience to say the least. Prisoners in the Special Management Unit (“SMU”) are kept caged for 23 hours a day in complete isolation with little to no human interaction. Walking through a unit like that, peering through tiny windows into tiny cells, is just as bleak and unsettling as you might imagine. The "rec area" – where inmates get to spend one lone hour per day outside their cell – consists of a series of small cages similar to what you might find at a low-budget dog kennel. It’s certainly hard to imagine that such treatment of human beings could have a positive effect on their mental health or their behavior – and not surprisingly, it doesn’t.
However, while on the one hand it’s challenging to visit a place like the SMU and come away feeling optimistic, it’s important to take things in perspective. As I talked afterwards with Shenna, Zach, and Alysia – all of whom have been working tirelessly on this issue for years – I came to view things in a different light. Why? Because the last time they visited Maine State Prison, the SMU was full. As we toured the unit yesterday, more than half the cells were empty. That’s real progress. And it affects real lives.
Credit for this amazing about-face on solitary confinement shouldn’t just go to one person or one organization. It’s a team effort, and as we toured the prison and talked with different staff members and officials, I was struck by how deserving they are of recognition. We often talk about the people at the top – and surely there are many who have earned their due praise on this issue – but we rarely hear about the prison officials who have to implement the new policy, or the security guards who have to deal with very difficult situations on a daily basis.
For Maine to have risen to national prominence as a model state for prison reform speaks to the commitment and professionalism of the employees at Maine State Prison and to the leaders and policymakers who recognized that solitary confinement isn’t the answer. The ACLU would certainly like to see more progress made on solitary confinement – and we won’t let up until we get it – but change is difficult, especially at institutions that function so rigidly. A half-empty SMU reminds us that policy changes -- even incremental ones -- affect real lives.
