Tag: Maine Civil Liberties Union

RadioActive 1/28/10

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Topic: LD 1611: “An Act To Ensure Humane Treatment for Special Management Prisoners”

State Representative Jim Schatz (D-Blue Hill) has introduced legislation that is aimed at reducing abuses of solitary confinement in Maine’s prisons.  Today we take a closer look at the legislation, the reasons it was proposed, and why it has drawn widespread support from a growing, diverse coalition of groups & individuals in the state.
LD 1611 “An Act To Ensure Humane Treatment for Special Management Prisoners”, would, if passed, do several things to reduce abuses on the SMU’s in Maine’s prisons.   It would protect severely mentally ill prisoners from being placed there, require the discharge of those who develop major mental illnesses while in solitary, restrict the use of restraints, chemical agents and other corporal punishment, require a system of reviews— and a need for justification for long-term placement on the SMU, and prevent prison officials from transferring prisoners out of state if they were to be placed in prisons that still allow such abuses.
Guests:
Emily Posner, Mainers Against the Abuse of Solitary Confinement, www.maineprisonproject.org
Reverend Stan Moody, former state legislator, former chaplain at the Special Management Unit, or SMU at Maine State Prison. He’s the  author of “Crisis in Evangelical Scholarship” and “McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry”, and author of several articles about his experiences there, that have been published in Village Soup.  He currently serves as pastor at the Meeting House Church in Manchester.  FMI: www.stanmoody.com & www.villagesoup.com
Alysia Melnick, Maine Civil Liberties Union FMI: www.mclu.org
Sheila Comerford, Executive Director, Maine Psychological Association
Link to text of LD 1611:
http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280035042

As we’ve reported previously on RadioActive,  State Representative Jim Schatz (D-Blue Hill) has introduced legislation that is aimed at reducing abuses of solitary confinement in Maine’s prisons.  Today we take a closer look at the legislation, the reasons it was proposed, and why it has drawn widespread support from a growing, diverse coalition of groups & individuals in the state.
Prisoners on the Special Management Units, or SMU, spend 23-24 hours per day in solitary confinement.  LD 1611 “An Act To Ensure Humane Treatment for Special Management Prisoners”, would, if passed, do several things to reduce abuses on the SMU’s in Maine’s prisons.   It would protect severely mentally ill prisoners from being placed there, require the discharge of those who develop major mental illnesses while in solitary, restrict the use of restraints, chemical agents and other corporal punishment, require a system of reviews— and a need for justification for long-term placement on the SMU, and prevent prison officials from transferring prisoners out of state if they were to be placed in prisons that still allow such abuses.

Guests: Emily Posner, Mainers Against the Abuse of Solitary Confinement, www.maineprisonproject.org
Reverend Stan Moody, former state legislator, former chaplain at the Special Management Unit, or SMU at Maine State Prison. He’s the  author of “Crisis in Evangelical Scholarship” and “McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry”, and author of several articles about his experiences there, that have been published in Village Soup.  He currently serves as pastor at the Meeting House Church in Manchester.  FMI: www.stanmoody.com & www.villagesoup.com
Alysia Melnick, Maine Civil Liberties Union FMI: www.mclu.org
Sheila Comerford, Executive Director, Maine Psychological Association
Link to text of LD 1611:http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280035042

RadioActive 10/30/08

Producers/Hosts: Meredith DeFrancesco & Amy Browne

Segment 1: Next week community activists from around the state will gather in Augusta for the Maine Association of Interdependent Neighborhoods (MAIN) Annual Meeting.    They’ll be deciding on priorities for the upcoming year—and you are invited to participate.  Earlier today we spoke with Steve Hoad of the MAIN Leadership team.  FMI: www.peacebreadjustice.org or MAIN, P.O. Box 69, Hallowell, ME 04347, 1-866-626-7059 (Ext. 204 for Conference Info)

Segment 2: It was announced this week that a California court has granted the motion of the Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU).   Foundation to intervene in a case involving National Security Agency wiretapping of potentially millions of Americans.   22 Mainers have been given formal legal status in a consolidated case against the telephone companies for their role in the NSA warrantless surveillance program.   Zachary Heiden of the Maine Civil Liberties Union will be joining us today to talk about the significance of that — and he’ll also provide some tips for making sure your vote is counted this year.   FMI: www.mclu.org or 207-774-5444.