Last week, when I saw the Maine State Prison warden at the news conference, stating, “I’d love to be able to sit here and say to you this will never happen again,” I knew he would take some heat at what some would feel was a cavalier attitude toward the recent prison murder, when, in reality, he was just stating the truth.

Your editorial stating, “Prisons should be safer than the rest of society, not more dangerous” is a somewhat idealistic and naive assessment of the reality of prison life (“Our View: No excuse for Maine State Prison murder,” March 6).

You seem to be basing your argument on prisoners having “no freedom of movement or right to privacy.” I beg to differ. The fact that this murder happened when the inmates were out of their cells and essentially moving about freely directly contradicts your notion that they do not have freedom of movement.

Unless you are willing to take away that freedom by means of 24/7 solitary confinement, where you are sliding prisoners their meals under their cell doors, the warden was 100 percent correct in saying these things are possible, and the idea of Kevlar vests for the guards is long overdue.

The reality is that prisons are indeed more dangerous places than the outside world due to their 100 percent population of criminals. Either be willing to “lock them up and throw away the key” or accept the risks. That’s the way it is.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.