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HRDC v. MCCA Self Funded Risk Management, ME, Settlement Check, 2023

Brief • September 1, 2023

Filed under: Public Records Act

HRDC v. MCCA Self Funded Risk Management, ME, Settlement Check, 2023 PretiFlaherty Portland, ME Augusta, ME Concord, NH Jeffrey T. Edwards jedwards@prn:i.com 207.791.3209 Boston, MA Washington, DC September 1, 2023 VIA EMAIL heiden<@aclumaine.org Zachary L. Heiden, Esq. ALCU P.O. Box 7860 Portland, ME 04112-760 RE: Human Rights Defense Center v. …

HRDC v. MCCA Self-Funded Risk Management, Letter Re Documentation Pertaining to Payment in Settlement, Public Records, 2023

Brief • September 1, 2023

Filed under: Public Records, Public Records Act

HRDC v. MCCA Self-Funded Risk Management, Letter Re Documentation Pertaining to Payment in Settlement, Public Records, 2023 PretiFlaherty Portland, ME Augusta, ME Concord, NH Jeffrey T. Edwards jedwards@prn:i.com 207.791.3209 Boston, MA Washington, DC September 1, 2023 VIA EMAIL heiden<@aclumaine.org Zachary L. Heiden, Esq. ALCU P.O. Box 7860 Portland, ME 04112-760 …

HRDC v. Maine County Commissioners Risk Management, ME, Decision and Order, Public Records, 2023

Brief • August 22, 2023

Filed under: Public Records

HRDC v. Maine County Commissioners Risk Management, ME, Decision and Order, Public Records, 2023 MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Decision: 2023 ME 56 Docket: Ken-22-420 Argued: June 8, 2023 Decided: August 22, 2023 Panel: Reporter of Decisions STANFILL, C.J., and MEAD, HORTON, CONNORS, LAWRENCE, and DOUGLAS, JJ. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER …

Maine’s Jails and Prisons Record 39 Deaths in 34 Months

Article • May 1, 2023 • from PLN May, 2023

Filed under: Drug Overdose, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Maine’s Jails and Prisons Record 39 Deaths in 34 Months by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On January 10, 2023, WMTW in Portland reported findings from a months-long investigation of deaths in Maine’s prisons and jails. By comparing information from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with data …

News in Brief

Article • April 1, 2023 • from PLN April, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: WBAM in Birmingham reported that a guard at the Blount County Jail was taken into custody and fired on January 31, 2023. Joseph Snow, 43, was charged with second-degree assault for injuring a detainee during an incident captured on surveillance video. Sheriff Mike Moon called …

No Discipline for 10 Maine Guards Who Mocked and Harassed Prisoners

Article • March 8, 2023

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Social Media, Disciplinary Proceedings

No Discipline for 10 Maine Guards Who Mocked and Harassed Prisoners by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott From 2019 to 2021, guards at Maine State Prison in Warren used a Facebook Messenger group chat to mock prisoners, joke about using force on them and sharing confidential information about …

News in Brief

Article • March 1, 2023 • from PLN March, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: On January 9, 2023, the Montgomery Police Department (MPD) arrested a guard at the city jail for an alleged off-duty assault, the Birmingham News reported. It’s unclear who filed the misdemeanor complaint against Reba Foulks, 36; MPD didn’t begin its investigation until …

$115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner

Article • January 1, 2023 • from PLN January, 2023

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Settlements

$115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter After reaching a $115,000 settlement with the Maine Department of Corrections (DOC), a state prisoner dismissed his suit on October 21, 2021, in which he alleged guards at the Maine State Prison (MSP) used excessive …

HRDC v. Maine County Commissioners Risk Management, ME, Decision and Order, Public Records, 2022

Brief • December 1, 2022

Filed under: Public Records, Public Records Act

HRDC v. Maine County Commissioners Risk Management, ME, Decision and Order, Public Records, 2022 STATE OF MAINE KENNEBEC, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO. CV-21-131 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Plaintiff, v. MAINE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION SELF-FUNDED RISK MANAGEMENT POOL, Defendant ) ) ) ) ) DECISION AND ORDER ) …

News in Brief

Article • November 30, 2022 • from PLN December, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A detainee assaulted aguard at the Calhoun County Jail on August 6, 2022, the Anniston Star reported. Sheriff Matthew Wade blamed an ongoing staffing shortage, which has typically left three guards on duty to supervise 300 detainees. One of them, Jacob Hammett, was out of …

Maine Caps Price of Phone Calls in State Prisons and Jails

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Maine Caps Price of Phone Calls in State Prisons and Jails by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart On April 15, 2022, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) approved H.P. 853, a new law capping the cost of calls in state prisons and county jails. Effective October 1, 2022, calls may not …

Maine Settles Suit Over COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Seized From Prisoners

Article • October 31, 2022 • from PLN November, 2022

Filed under: COVID-19, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Maine Settles Suit Over COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Seized From Prisoners by Jayson Hawkins by Jayson Hawkins Like many prison systems across America, Maine’s Department of Corrections (DOC) has a work-release program that allows prisoners to hold jobs in local communities while serving their sentence. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck …

News in Brief

Article • September 30, 2022 • from PLN October, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A jail guard in Chilton County, Alabama, was arrested on July 21, 2022, and charged with promoting contraband, the Clanton Advertiser reported. The guard, Tyler Ryan Couch, is accused of organizing an effort to smuggle drugs to detainees. Though jail policy forbids guards from transmitting …

Impact of Felons’ Voting Minimal, MIT Researchers Find

Article • September 1, 2022 • from PLN September, 2022

Filed under: Felon Disenfranchisement Statute

Impact of Felons’ Voting Minimal, MIT Researchers Find by Keith Sanders by Keith Sanders Mass incarceration disenfranchises millions in America, especially the economically disadvantaged who make up the majority of those incarcerated. Though the rationale for barring felons from voting is multifaceted, one argument is that a bloc of voting …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2022 • from PLN August, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On June 3, 2022, a guard was arrested for having sex with a prisoner at Alabama’s Pickens County Jail, according to a report by WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi. The guard, Marquita Booker, 28, was fired after her arrest, which followed an investigation that earlier in …

Mentally Ill Maine State Prisoner Finally Leaves Solitary, But Can’t Push State Lawmakers to Pass Bill Limiting Its Use

Article • July 25, 2022

Filed under: Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Mental Health, State Legislation

Mentally Ill Maine State Prisoner Finally Leaves Solitary, But Can’t Push State Lawmakers to Pass Bill Limiting Its Use by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon By the time he was released from Maine State Prison (MSP) on March 7, 2022, Zachary Swain estimated he had spent half of his seven-year …

Maine State Prison Guard Awarded $400,000 in Sex Discrimination Settlement

Article • July 19, 2022

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Settlements

Maine State Prison Guard Awarded $400,000 in Sex Discrimination Settlement by Ashleigh Dye by Ashleigh N. Dye A sex discrimination suit against filed by a female guard at the Maine State Prison against the state Department of Corrections (DOC) was settled for $400,000 in June 2022. The guard, Autumn Dinsmore, …

Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Uncovers Almost 1,000 Privileged Calls Recorded in Four County Jails, Sues York County for Denying Public Records Request

Article • June 1, 2022 • from PLN June, 2022

Filed under: Public Records, Recorded Calls, Securus

Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Uncovers Almost 1,000 Privileged Calls Recorded in Four County Jails, Sues York County for Denying Public Records Request by Keith Sanders by Keith Sanders  On January 26, 2022, the Maine Monitor published a list of nearly 1,000 privileged calls illegally recorded between detainees and …

Dinsmore v. State of Maine, ME, Settlement, Discrimination, 2022

Brief • May 20, 2022

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women

Dinsmore v. State of Maine, ME, Settlement, Discrimination, 2022 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE Autumn N. Dinsmore ("Dinsmore") of Rockland, Maine; the State of Maine and the Maine Department of Corrections (the "Employer"); Joel Parsons of Edgecomb, Maine; and Dale Tobey, Jr., of Pittston, Maine (the "Individuals''), (collectively the "State …

Sparks v. Mills, ME, Settlement Agreement, Jobless Benefits, 2022

Brief • April 26, 2022

Filed under: Work Release

Sparks v. Mills, ME, Settlement Agreement, Jobless Benefits, 2022 Case 2:20-cv-00190-LEW Document 47-1 Filed 04/26/22 Page 1 of 22 PageID #: 317 Exhibit 1 Settlement Agreement and Release Subject to Court approval, Representative Plaintiff Marc Sparks, individually, and on behalf of a class of other persons, and Defendants Janet Mills, …