Yesterday I toured the Maine Correctional Center, meeting with center administrators, medical staff and prisoners for a total three and a half hours. Superintendent Scott Burnheimer and his staff were really great in taking the time to explain all aspects of the program, and they led us on a tour that included all areas of the prison. This is part of an ACLU of MAINE effort to visit all Maine’s state prison facilities and some of the jails over the next couple of months to increase our understanding of conditions on the ground. The Maine Correctional Center houses the women’s state prison, and I learned that Maine has the fastest growing population of incarcerated women per capita in the country. The Correctional Center has received national recognition for its women’s programming, it’s sex offender rehabilitation program, and its substance abuse treatment program. I was impressed by what I saw and heard about those programs from participants and administrators alike. Too frequently, public attention focuses on negative incidents rather than the positive efforts of a staff who is working very hard to ensure that inmates are better prepared to re-enter our community. (In 2008, 98% of inmates in Maine were scheduled for release to the community at some point.) At the same time, resources are too few to provide appropriate programming to everyone who is eligible. Maine's system is over capacity because Maine, like every other state in the country, is locking up more prisoners every year.
Earlier this month, I met with over fifty inmates from the Maine State Prison’s NAACP chapter at Warren and listened to their concerns about solitary confinement, medical care and adequate legal counsel. We are returning to the Maine State Prison for a tour of the solitary unit next month. We’ll keep you posted on what we learn.
