Your editorial board could not be more right about solitary confinement (“Our View: Whatever you call it, solitary confinement should be banned,” March 4).

Solitary confinement can be a vicious circle for the person in segregation. We know from medical research that even a few days in isolation can cause significant psychiatric and neurobiological damage, leading to impulsive, angry, self-injurious or defiant behavior. It’s difficult to get out once you go in. The damage may last for years.

L.D. 696 provides clear definitions of segregation and solitary confinement. It eliminates the use of solitary confinement, defined as more than 20 hours alone in a cell a day, and sets standards for lesser forms of segregated confinement. The bill restricts the use of isolation in a cell to reasons of safety, not punishment. It provides for staff training to improve employee safety – eliminating solitary confinement makes everyone safer.

L.D. 696 will help those in the correctional system with mental health diagnoses to get the care they need. It will help those leaving prison to have a greater chance of success upon reentry. And it protects the most vulnerable of those who are incarcerated: young people, the elderly and pregnant women or those who recently gave birth. ·

The humane care of incarcerated people results in safer communities once a person goes home, and costs taxpayers less money. It’s the right time for Maine to continue its path forward in safe, effective corrections.

Janis Petzel
Islesboro

Copy the Story Link