The county’s publicly funded insurer paid a total of $345,000 to settle the two separate, but similar, federal lawsuits that family members of the inmates who died filed last year.
county jails
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Maine to drop charges, release people from jail over public defense failures
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy gives Maine’s public defense agency 1 month before criminal defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys are released from jail if they have waited more than 2 weeks for a lawyer.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
Family of man who died at Wiscasset jail files wrongful death lawsuit
The family of Kare Randall, who died by suicide, is suing a handful of local government agencies and officials, claiming that they failed to respond to clear warning signs.
Posted inKennebec Journal, Local & State, Maine Crime, News
Agency to fork up nearly $200,000 for shielding public records related to Kennebec County jail
The Maine County Commissioners Association Risk Pool is the first government entity in Maine to be penalized for wrongly withholding documents since the Freedom of Access Act became law in 1959.
Posted inLocal & State, Uncategorized
Detention center contending with staffing issues, lack of infirmary
Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. and Jail Administrator Major Douglas Blauvelt spoke with the Franklin County Budget Advisory Board about increases to their budget to combat issues with staffing and medical resources.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Lawmakers to take up prisoner rights bills, overdose legal protections
During work sessions this week, lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will discuss an array of bills, including one to ban solitary confinement and another to expand Good Samaritan Law protections.
Posted inMaine Voices, Op-Eds, Opinion
Maine Voices: Legislature should ban solitary confinement in Maine’s jails, prisons
L.D. 696 will put an end to a practice that has no rehabilitative purpose and that harms people who are incarcerated.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Despite outbreaks at Maine prisons and jails, workers aren’t required to get vaccinated
The governor’s vaccine mandate doesn’t apply to corrections workers, even those who provide medical care, and her office hasn’t explained why.
Posted inLocal & State, Maine Crime, News
Unlike courts and businesses, Maine jails remain in pandemic mode
Sheriffs and jail administrators say they are following state corrections and health agencies’ recommendations for COVID-19 safety measures.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Maine should cut use of cash bail
County jails are full of people awaiting trial, mostly for minor offenses.