#ReleaseOurLovedOnes

Currently, over 3,000 of our loved ones are incarcerated in State prisons and county jails across Maine. Join us in calling on Governor Mills and other power holders to exercise their authority to #ReleaseOurLovedOnes, while ensuring anyone remaining inside can adhere to CDC guidelines for safe physical distancing and properly protect themselves and correctional staff from Covid-19 exposure and community transmission.

We are calling on Governor Janet Mills to direct the Department of Corrections and County Jail Commissioners to prioritize the following groups of people for immediate release:

  • Those at especially high risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus due to their age, preexisting conditions or pregnancy status;

  • Those with less than two years on their sentence;

  • Primary caretakers of children and elderly loved ones;

  • All currently incarcerated youth at LongCreek.

You can read the full text of our demands here.

We are also calling on the Governor to address homelessness by issuing an executive order to utilize our state’s Emergency General Assistance program to fund extended stays in hotels and motels, so newly released individuals are not sent to congregate shelters during the statewide civil emergency. You can read the full letter of housing recommendations here.

We invite you to join a robust coalition of Maine organizers, advocates, harm reductionists, and directly-impacted community members in our Week of Action to #DecarcerateME, #FreeOurYouth and #ReleaseOurLovedOnes. A full schedule is outlined below, and you can access a digital toolkit with shareable graphics, templates and sample social media messaging.

The coalition is hosting a webinar to dive more deeply into these efforts and ongoing organizing against mass incarceration in Maine on Monday, April 20th @ 4:45 PM. Register today!

You can also reach out to Courtney at ceallen@colby.edu with any questions!