I recently attended the public hearing on the Department of Corrections’ proposed prisoner disciplinary policies with my professor and a fellow student from the University of Southern Maine.

Though my own comment was brief, I was given a great hope for the future of penal reform in Maine. The issue of prisoner’s First Amendment rights, while important, touched upon the impact of social isolation on recidivism.

If Maine residents and the state government expect offenders to reintegrate themselves into our society, both our governmental institutions and communities should meet them halfway.

I’m not arguing for prisons to behave as a holiday getaway for offenders, nor for Maine families to open their homes up to violent felons. I simply recognize the positive impact of social and educational outreach in combating recidivism. It provides a substantive approach to humanize and engage prisoners who will one day be walking the same streets as we do.

It’s easy for our elected representatives to see offenders only in the realm of the court system, just as it’s easy for the average Mainer to imagine offenders whisked away to another world separated from our own. Such an ignorant and dismissive approach to criminal justice will not solve the high rate of recidivism, nor erase the financial burden or human cost on Maine families.

Matthew Raymond, Augusta

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