News & Commentary

Update: LD 1013 becomes law!

The Eighth Amendment of our Constitution explicitly prohibits any cruel or unusual punishment from being imposed, and yet, we see examples of this throughout our criminal justice system. From use of the death penalty to solitary confinement and inadequate provision of medical care, America's enormous prison system has a reputation for its terrible conditions.  

UPDATE: The bill's sponsor has announced he will withdraw the bill!

Indiana has been in the news a lot recently, and, other than the NCAA basketball tournament, none of it has been good.

On Monday, RH Reality Check published the first article in their “Women, Incarcerated” series. This first article focuses on one former prisoner’s experience with a high-risk pregnancy, forced induced labor, and shackling, all while in prison. The woman in question, Keeley Schenwar, was arrested in the spring of 2013 – the same day she found out she was pregnant. Schenwar had been struggling with addiction and had been in and out of jail several times for crimes related to drug dependency. For her last offense – stealing from Walgreen’s – she was sentenced to a year in Logan Correctional Center.  

This week RH Reality, a daily publication providing news, commentary, and analysis on reproductive health and reproductive justice issues, began a series titled Women, Incarcerated – an on-going investigation into the abuses women face in prisons and jails across the country. The series is a great reminder of why, in order to end mass incarceration and build a more humane prison system, criminal justice advocates must address women in our justice system. 

RH Reality, a daily publication providing news, commentary, and analysis on reproductive health and reproductive justice issues, just published a podcast that tackles the explosion of the so-called religious freedom bills that have been popping up all over the country. This podcast might be of particular interest to those of us here in Maine because, during this legislation session, we’re facing with a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of our own.

Senate Democrats have threatened to pull their support from a bipartisan anti-trafficking bill this week. The reason? They just found out that anti-abortion provisions were slipped into the bill language without their knowledge.

Update: The voter ID bill is defeated, and the Legislature passes a law to continue providing assistance to some immigrants in need!