Everyone deserves the right to rehabilitation, healing, and full participation in society. This legislative session, our elected officials will vote on L.D. 178: An Act to Support Re-entry and Reintegration into the Community, which would restore parole in Maine after 47 years.

Parole was abolished in 1976 as a result of Richard Nixon’s federal “tough on crime” policies, most significantly the War on Drugs, and in the era of mass incarceration that followed, Maine’s prison population rose 163% between 1983 and 2015, according to the Vera Institute.

With some of the harshest sentencing practices in the country, Maine currently has no clear pathway to reentry, and parole offers a structured, supportive and restorative alternative to incarceration, in which people would finish out their sentences in their communities and with their families. Parole encourages growth and transformation, with the opportunity to work, parent and thrive under supervision.

Parole would also benefit Maine’s economy immensely. According to Parole4ME, it costs Maine taxpayers $76,000 a year to incarcerate one person. Even offering parole to just 10% of Maine’s incarcerated population would save taxpayers $13 million, redirecting funds to a dedicated parole board and to restorative justice practices that protect and support victims, like victim-offender dialogue. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is holding a public hearing on L.D. 178 at 10 a.m. Monday in Room 436 of the State House. Please encourage our legislators to support this bill.

Everyone deserves a second chance and the opportunity for redemption.

Skye Donovan Adams
Portland

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