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<DIV align=center><SPAN
style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; WHITE-SPACE: pre; COLOR: rgb(204,0,0)"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: xx-large"><FONT size=5>URGENT ACTION: THE FLOOR FIGHT
BEGINS<BR>Support the Nutting/Schatz Report on LD 1611<BR>End Long-Term Solitary
Confinement in Maine<BR></FONT></DIV></SPAN></SPAN>
<DIV class=gmail_quote> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>Dear Friends,<BR><BR>You have helped us get this
far. No one could have ever predicted that this bill would have made it
this far. Last week, the Criminal Justice Committee voted LD 1611 out of
committee in a three-way report. We will be supporting the <STRONG><FONT
color=#ff0000>Nutting/Schatz Report</FONT></STRONG> which still contains all of
the essential components of the original version of the bill.<BR><BR>If there
ever was a time to act in support of this essential piece of prison reform
legislation it is today. We need every single one of you to write/call
your <A href="http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm#M">Representative
and Senator</A> in support of the <STRONG>Nutting/Schatz Report on LD
1611</STRONG>. See the talking points below to help you draft your
comments. With your help we can increase the safety and security in Maine
prisons, as well as our communities, by addressing one of the most
psychologically abusive prison practices. </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><A
href="http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm#M">PLEASE write, call, and
email your elected officials</A> in support of the <STRONG>Schatz/Nutting Report
of LD 1611 -- An Act to Ensure Humane Treatment for Special Management Unit
Prisoners (SMU) at Maine State Prison</STRONG> (SMU =solitary confinement
= SuperMax). <BR><BR>When you hear back from your representative, please
let us know what they have to say: <EM>(call 930-5232 or email </EM><A
href="mailto:poscreek@gmail.com"><EM>poscreek@gmail.com</EM></A><EM>)</EM></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><STRONG><EM></EM></STRONG><BR>Take a look at the
resources and action items at the end of this email.</DIV><FONT
face="Gill Sans MT"></FONT>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR>Emily Posner<BR><EM>Mainers Against the Abuse of
Solitary Confinement</EM></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><EM><A
href="http://www.maineprisonjustice.org">www.maineprisonjustice.org</A>
</EM><BR><FONT
face="Gill Sans MT">_______________________________________</FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(153,51,153)"><FONT
color=#008000>"I was devastated in that cold cell! I had a 2" thick foam
covered in dirty blue plastic for a mattress and no pillow on a cement
bed. They left me in there for days with no books or nothing to write with.
You don't know what time it is or what day it is. I lost 22
pounds in 3 weeks. You lose all hope after awhile. The time went by
so slowly and I wanted to die at that point. I even prayed to God to
let me go to sleep and never wake up. I never knew a man could feel so
lonely and feel so low in life. . . ." -- Billy L.,
Prisoner</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(153,51,153)"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR>Listen to <A
href="http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineHeadlineNews/tabid/968/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3479/ItemId/7432/Default.aspx"
target=_blank>MPBN's story </A> about a hunger strike that took place
within the last year in Maine's segregation/solitary confinement
units.<BR><BR>Our legislators need to hear your voice, and in a place like
Maine, a handful of calls and handwritten letters truly can make a
difference. LD 1611 had a tremendously successful public hearing.
Please listen to MPBN's three news reports to learn more about the hearing
and work session:<BR><A
href="http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/11297/Default.aspx">Work
Session Report</A><BR><A
href="http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/11036/Default.aspx"
target=_blank>Public Hearing REPORT 1</A> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><A
href="http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/11095/Default.aspx"
target=_blank>Public Hearing REPORT 2</A> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><FONT face="Gill Sans MT"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>The Schatz/Nutting Report of LD 1611:</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR>
<UL>
<LI>Caps the use of segregation to 45 consecutive days with the exception of
certain conditions, which are the following: committed or attempted to commit
a sexual assault, an escape from confinement, an act of serious physical
violence, or that housing the prisoner in general population would pose an
immediate and unacceptable risk to the safety of staff or other prisoners.
<LI>Bans the placement of mentally ill prisoners in segregation, and requires
that prisoners who begin to exhibit mental illness while isolated be removed.
<LI>Brings an element of due process with fair and meaningful hearings and
reviews to this prison practice.
<LI>Creates a more safe and secure prison
<LI>Returns inmates to our community that have not been exposed to the
long-term and sometimes permanent psychological impacts of segregation. This
increases safety for the community.</LI></UL></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">"Solitary
confinement is more than a punishment, it is torture. We are being left in
these cells not to be taught a lesson but to be taunted, pushed over the
edge, to be psychologically and spiritually broken down and for some
of us to lose our integrity, our dignity, and our minds. . . ." -- Jacob
M., Prisoner</SPAN></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><STRONG><SPAN
style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"></SPAN></STRONG><FONT size=6><BR></FONT><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large">CAN YOU DO
MORE:<BR></DIV></SPAN></SPAN>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<OL style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">
<LI><FONT size=4><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT size=3 face=Arial>Forward this email to 10-20
of your friends</FONT></SPAN></SPAN> </FONT>
<LI><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Post this info on your facebook page</FONT></SPAN></SPAN>
<LI><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Come to Augusta to Citizen Lobby (we need you in the
Halls)</FONT></SPAN></SPAN>
<LI><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Write a Letter-to-the-Editor</FONT></SPAN></SPAN>
<LI><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Sign Petition at </FONT><A href="goog_1268296591562"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>www.endsolitary.org</FONT></A></SPAN></SPAN>
<LI><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Hang a Flyer in Your Town <EM>(call <FONT
face="Times New Roman">930-5232 or email <A
href="mailto:poscreek@gmail.com">poscreek@gmail.com</A> and we'll send a
flyer)</FONT></EM></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></LI></OL></DIV>Dozens of Maine human
rights advocates have been working very thoughtfully on this bill to ensure
safety and humane conditions for prison staff and prisoners, as well as our
communities. We know many prisoners who are in solitary confinement or
have been -- sometimes for weeks and months -- in the isolated SuperMax
units of Maine State Prison. There is presently no outside oversight to
abuse and arbitrary lengths of time in this out-of-sight
solitary<BR>confinement building. Thus, there is little hope for change
for the 100+ people housed in the SMU, including the mentally ill who make
up the largest numbers. (If you would like to read these
prisoners' stories, please ask us to send excerpts or read:<BR><A
href="http://thephoenix.com/Portland/news/97371-screams-from-solitary/"
target=_blank>http://thephoenix.com/Portland/news/97371-screams-from-solitary/</A>
)<BR><BR><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"><FONT color=#008000><STRONG>"I went
through POW training when I was eighteen. It's the only way I made it
through the SMU over the past year. . . .While I was in they<BR>were making me
scrub floors and showers on my hands and knees calling me n----- and other
demeaning language. . . . When I went in they<BR>broke six of my ribs and
bruised my left hip. They didn't take pictures of me till I was in three
months. I have no way to prove injury as the nurses won't testify. I
tried. . . ." -- Ed G., Prisoner</STRONG></FONT></SPAN><BR><BR><BR>Prisoners
have been found guilty of crimes and received sentences. They are required
to "do their time"; not to receive ongoing unsupervised punishment, which
many experts call torture. The present circumstances at the SMU --
for which we all bear the blame -- have created the "dark holes" in Maine's
prison system. It's time to shine a light and establish rules and
recourse.<BR>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: large"><SPAN
style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,0)"><BR></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: large"><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,0)">Please Forward
Widely<BR></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: large"><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,0)"><FONT
size=2></FONT><BR></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: large"><SPAN style="COLOR: rgb(102,102,0)">Read More About
Maine and Solitary Confinement.</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><A
href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande"
target=_blank>Hell Hole </A> by Atul Gawande</DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><FONT face="Gill Sans MT"></FONT><BR><A
href="http://www.stanmoody.com/ItemDetail_180_508_Prison_Myth_Number_Five.aspx"
target=_blank>http://www.stanmoody.com/ItemDetail_180_508_Prison_Myth_Number_Five.aspx</A><BR>by
Rev. Stan Moody<BR><BR><A
href="http://thephoenix.com/Portland/news/97371-screams-from-solitary/"
target=_blank>http://thephoenix.com/Portland/news/97371-screams-from-solitary/</A>
by<BR>Lance Tapley, Portland Phoenix<BR><BR><A
href="http://thecrimereport.org/2010/02/17/locking-down-the-mentally-ill/"
target=_blank>http://thecrimereport.org/2010/02/17/locking-down-the-mentally-ill/</A><BR><BR>To
contact your elected official:<BR><A
href="http://www.Maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm"
target=_blank>http://www.Maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm</A><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote><BR> </DIV></BODY></HTML>