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FAMM (formerly Families Against Mandatory Minimums) just launched their #VisitAPrison campaign to encourage elected officials to visit their jails and prisons to understand the residents affected by their legislation.
Click and/or share to send a message to your representatives: https://secure.everyaction.com/rQ2EeUI56UqsRwvmwIs_JQ2Challenge Your Lawmaker to #VisitAPrison!
You can’t know if you don’t go.
Your elected leaders make and enforce our nation’s sentencing laws and prison policies. Yet most of them have never even visited a prison or jail. They can’t tackle the challenges we face if they have never even visited a prison. It is critical that we work together to get lawmakers to visit prisons and learn first-hand what needs to be fixed.
Email your lawmaker today and urge them to visit a prison or jail in their state or visit a federal facility.–
PLEASE Note: Replies are automatically sent to the entire list if you use the “reply” button. If you wish to reply directly to a sender, you must copy and paste the sender’s address into the address line of your reply, and delete the address of the e-mail group.
PLEASE also note we expect that norms of respect and consideration of others will be followed. Also note that this is a public discussion so you are advised to carefully consider what personal information or views you post. Please also limit your posts to those dealing with criminal justice reform.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mainers-against-solitary-confinement/E32BB8A8-2E3E-4CB5-AE63-CE2F17B61F19%40gmail.com.
The Maine legislature’s Judiciary Committee has scheduled a work session on eight bills on July 15 beginning at 9 am. You can listen and/or watch this session through links from the committee page at http://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/JUD This is also where you can find the more complete schedule for this joint committee.
We have been involved with two of these bills:
LD 302 An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Post-conviction Review in Order To Facilitate the Fair Hearing of All Evidence in Each Case Involving a Claim of Innocence. This bill extends the time for filing and requires that a petition for post-conviction review claiming actual innocence receive at least one evidentiary hearing in which the petitioner may submit new evidence and evidence submitted in prior proceedings on the same matter.
LD 1061 An Act To Establish a Fund To Compensate Unjustly Incarcerated Persons.
For each bill, the LD number is linked to legislative information about the bill. Including text. MPAC has already testified on these bills and you can see our testimony by following the link then looking at Committee Info. If you wish to have input, you can write to the chairs of the Committee: Senator Carpenter, Michael.Carpenter@Legislature.Maine.gov and Representative Bailey, Donna.Bailey@Legislature.Maine.gov
Yours in Love and Service,
peter
Peter Lehman
Legislative Coordinator
Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
Thomaston, Maine
(207) 542-1496
Committed to ethical, positive, and humane changes in Maine’s prison system
MSP certainly denies healthcare to their inmates there. Kenny has a partially torn ACL and meniscus from slipping coming out of the shower. This was seen and documented by the CO in his block. This happened last April 2019. They have told him now in March of 2020 that they will allow him to have PT, but because he is 44 they will not give him surgery. He now lives in pain constantly. They are literally denying him medical coverage.
Amber
On Sat, Mar 7, 2020 at 20:07 Jan Collins <janmariecollins57@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Mainers who care,SEveral times throughout this legislative session issues regarding the lack of health care for inmates have been raised. Examples include – substance use disorder treatment, hepatitis C treatment, and women’s reproductive health care.It is clear the federal government’s exclusion of inmates from medicaid and medicare health coverage means that prisons and jails are not providing proper health care coverage.We need to lobby our congressional representatives to repeal this exclusion.Doug Dunbar has found this organization which is working toward that end.NACO‑NSA JOINT TASK FORCE REPORTADDRESSING THE FEDERAL MEDICAID INMATE EXCLUSION POLICY
Please sign up and sign on.Jan—Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.– Misty Copeland(dancer)
Lance Tapley / The Free Press:—
“I’m begging the American people to pay attention to what is going on. Because if you want to have a democracy intact for your children & your children’s children & generations yet unborn we’ve got to guard this moment. This is our watch.” – Elijah Cummings
Scott Thistle / Portland Press Herald: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/02/18/maine-legislature-considers-bill-to-expunge-some-convictions-from-public-records/
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“I’m begging the American people to pay attention to what is going on. Because if you want to have a democracy intact for your children & your children’s children & generations yet unborn we’ve got to guard this moment. This is our watch.” – Elijah Cummings
LD 2987, Ban the Box on employment applications, is scheduled for Public Hearing on Feb 19 at 10 am, in front of the Labor and Housing Committee in room 202 of the Cross Building, next to the State House.
To help learn more about this bill, I attach an overview of “Fair Chance—Ban the Box” ideas. Also, I attach a research study of Ban the Box in the city and county of Durham, NC that we will be distributing to members of the Committee so feel free to refer to it.
You can testify in person or by submitting written testimony online, which is printed and distributed to the committee members. If you testify in person try to bring 20 copies of your testimony to be distributed to the Committee.
There is a 3 minute time limit when testifying in person. This Committee uses a clock so be prepared. Written testimony can be as long as you wish.
At the beginning of your verbal and written testimony, clearly note your name and town of residence. At the beginning of your written testimony clearly note which bill you are testifying about and your position on the bill (support, oppose or neither).
You can submit testimony online at any time after the Public Hearing has been announced. To submit testimony and read some guidelines, go to https://www.mainelegislature.org/testimony/.
Your stories are important and legislators need to hear them. Have you or someone you know had trouble finding employment with a criminal record?
If you would like to talk about participating or would like assistance, please feel free to call or send me an email.
I am trying to keep our legislative agenda list up to date so click here to view it and bookmark the file to check back later.
Yours in Love and Service,
Peter
PS: Clicking the LD numbers above links you to the legislative site where you can read the text of the bills, read the list of sponsors, see changes in schedule, and follow their progress.
Peter Lehman
Legislative Coordinator
Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
Thomaston, Maine
(207) 542-1496
Committed to ethical, positive, and humane changes in Maine’s prison system
Because of the attention currently being given to the proposed enormous new jail in Bangor, this is a key moment for action.
Letters to the editor are needed. Doesn’t matter where you live. We need letters to call for changes (bail reform, issuing of more summonses, alternative sentencing programs, investments in community-based mental health services, etc), not ever-bigger places of incarceration.
A link to the “No Jail Expansion” group’s website is at the bottom of this message. We believe a better jail is needed in Penobscot County, but not a bigger one. Not a single additional metal bunk or locked cell. Mass incarceration has failed us. It’s been a disastrous waste of public resources, human potential and moral capital.
At some point, we have to draw a line and say…no more! This is the time. It’s not an issue solely for Penobscot County. It’s a debate for all of Maine.
Letters can be very brief. Just a couple of short paragraphs will do. I’m here to assist, if anyone wants ideas or help in drafting a letter. They can be quickly and easily submitted to the BDN using the link below.
Thanks for everyone’s time, concern and efforts.
Doug Dunbar
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“Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better” Maya Angelou
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mainers-against-solitary-confinement/1568059870.2548738.1581810150856%40mail.yahoo.com.
Please join us at our next MPAC Statewide Strategy Meeting
Saturday, April 11, 2020 . 10 a.m. – noon
Harbor Peer & Wellness, 35 School St, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04358
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“I’m begging the American people to pay attention to what is going on. Because if you want to have a democracy intact for your children & your children’s children & generations yet unborn we’ve got to guard this moment. This is our watch.” – Elijah Cummings
I just learned that a public hearing on LD 1421, An Act To Amend the Maine Bail Code, sponsored by Rep. Talbot Ross is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 1:05 pm in the Judiciary Committee at the State House. I’ve attached to this email the language that is being proposed to replace the current bill.The key things that this bill does:
- Eliminates the ability for judicial officers to impose cash bail on people arrested and charged with most Class E crimes (certain DV-related crimes are still going to have cash bail)
- Eliminates the ability for judicial officers to impose bail conditions that allow police to randomly search people for drugs or alcohol if they’ve been given the bail condition that they not possess or use drugs/alcohol
- Requires judicial officers to consider, when deciding whether to give bail and what kind of bail to give, whether a defendant is a primary caregiver to another person, whether a defendant is receiving health care treatment (including mental health care) outside of jail or whether that treatment would be better provided outside of jail, and whether a person could lose their job if they don’t get out on bail.
I know it’s really short notice, but for those who can’t make it and would like to submit testimony, the website to do that is here. On the pull-down menu, you would select Judiciary Committee, then select February 18, 1:05pm, and then click on LD 1421.For guidelines and other information about testifying, see my previous emails.Thanks to Meagan Sway of ACLU Maine for this valuable information.Yours in Love and Service,Peter LehmanLegislative CoordinatorMaine Prisoner Advocacy CoalitionThomaston, Maine(207) 542-1496Committed to ethical, positive, and humane changes in Maine’s prison system
Please help us welcome these women and men back into our community from jail or prison. Anyone interested in helping citizens re-entering from jail or prison please sign up for this training.
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