AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature today passed LD 1515, a Governor’s bill that proposes to expand the mental health unit at the Maine State Prison to hold some patients formerly housed at Riverview Psychiatric Center. The House and Senate passed the bill for engrossment and it now goes back to both chambers for enactment.
Yesterday, the ACLU of Maine sent a letter to the legislature expressing civil liberties concerns about LD 1515. Specifically, the ACLU of Maine urged the legislature to prohibit transfer of individuals unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible due to mental illness from the hospital to the Maine State Prison. Since then, the bill was amended to prohibit the transfer of such patients.
The following can be attributed to Zachary Heiden, Legal Director of the ACLU of Maine:
“We are pleased that the final bill prohibits the transfer of people with mental illness who have not been convicted of a crime to prison. But even with the improvements, this bill will not fix the underlying human rights and safety problems at Riverview. The administration and the legislature have an obligation to improve the staffing, training and management at Riverview to ensure that patients with mental illness will receive adequate care instead of being subjected to abusive treatment and conditions. We will continue to monitor both Riverview and the Maine State Prison to make sure that the constitutional rights of people with mental illness are upheld.”
The ACLU’s letter to the legislature is available here.
