Today the Portland Press Herald and Central Maine Sentinel ran a great editorial titled "Overuse of prison isolation issue should not go away." We appreciate the editorial and the acknowledgment of the ACLU of MAINE's involvement in the issue. We promise: this issue will not go away. While Maine's legislature voted this week to pass only a resolve directing the Commissioner of Corrections to study the Department's policies around the use of solitary confinement, that is a valuable first step.
In recent weeks, it seems that the media has really picked up on the issue of solitary confinement in a significant way. Check out this half-hour program on solitary confinement titled "Survivors." It just played on Maine Public Radio and should be played on public radio stations across the state.
On Sunday, April 11 at 9 pm, the National Geographic television channel will air a fascinating review of solitary confinement.
Many thanks to Representative Jim Schatz (D-Blue Hill) for bringing this legislation forward. Activist Emily Posner was a tireless advocate and leader on this legislation. With our amazing allies from the Maine Psychological Association, the Maine Association of Pyschiatric Physicians, the NAACP - Portland Branch, the Maine Council of Churches and more, we will continue to work on this issue until we solve the problem.