Victims want inmate data Location, release dates urged

AUGUSTA – Mary Walters of Auburn was choked and stabbed by her ex-husband in 1997, “but I am the one serving the prison sentence,” she told the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday. Walters was one of several supporters of a bill that would release more information on prison inmates to their victims.

Walters said she fears that her ex-husband, who got 10 years for the assault, will be released early, or on a furlough, and she will never know. She fears that he will seek revenge for her court testimony, which sent him to prison. Her ex-husband was transferred to Windham without her knowledge, which raised her fears.

“That moved him even closer. It’s not fair that I wasn’t told. It’s the least the state can do for the victims. A little peace of mind is not too much to ask. I know inmates have rights. I want some rights, too,” she said.

The sponsor of LD 1050, Sen. Michael McAlevey, R-Waterboro, said the bill would allow the Department of Corrections the power to release more information. He suggested that the information be given out through the courts, which would decide what is pertinent. Victims should know the location of the inmate, date of release, furloughs, and any crimes committed while in prison to “let a little sunshine into the prisons,” he said.

Debbie O’Brien of Kennebunk keeps a close watch on the inmate who murdered her son. O’Brien, chapter leader for the Parents of Murdered Children, was shocked to learn that the convicted murderer was transferred without her knowledge from the Supermax prison in Warren where inmates are locked up 23 hours a day to the relative comfort of a general population prison in Concord, N.H.

The prison advocate should be allowed to give out basic information, such as the location of the inmate, she said. “Victims need to have a voice. We were never told he was transferred and never told why. We have a right to know,” she said.

Ironically, O’Brien can get more information on her son’s murderer when he is confined in New Hampshire, because of more lenient laws there.

Law now prohibits the corrections department in Maine from releasing information about prison inmates, according to department advocate Denise Giles. “I would like to be able to give victims more information,” Giles told the committee. Information on work releases, furloughs, additional crimes committed behind bars and work history should be available to victims, she said. The information could be provided at virtually no cost through simple access by victims to department computers, she said.

The only opposition to the idea came from the Maine Civil Liberties Union. MCLU spokesman Joan Sturmthal said the prison system should be allowed to do its work on inmates’ rehabilitation without interference by victims and their families. The legislation is a step backward that could lead to “public hangings and the rack,” Sturmthal said.

The committee also heard testimony on LD 508, which would remove the requirement that a county sheriff must hold a certificate from the Criminal Justice Academy.

Kennebec County Sheriff Brian T. Lamoreau opposed the bill because it would water down the standards for sheriff’s candidates. The person at the top of a law enforcement agency should be at least as qualified as the person at the bottom, he said, noting that every patrolman and deputy must complete the academy course.

A work session on both bills was set for 1 p.m. March 21.