NEW POLICY WILL BE SHOOT TO MAIM ONLY. Committee cuts out shoot-to-kill rule for Windham prison..... AUGUSTA — A proposal that would have allowed the use of deadly force against any prisoners attempting an escape from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham was stripped from a bill Monday that makes other changes to the states Department of Corrections. In a 12-1 vote, the Legislatures Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee agreed to move the bill forward without the provision with only Rep. Ricky Long, R-Sherman, in opposition. The deadly-force provision was requested by the department and would have given Maine Correctional Center guards the same guidelines as those working at high-security Maine State Prison in Warren. Lawmakers supporting the proposal said it made sense because increasing numbers of dangerous inmates are serving time at the Windham facility. DOC officials noted the Windham facility also had a high-security unit but lawmakers opposing the measure, most of them former law enforcement officers, said they didnt believe the change was warranted. State Rep. Timothy Marks, D-Pittston, a former state trooper, said there wasnt a history of escape in Maine that warranted such at change. There was no trend ever shown. . . no exodus (of prisoners), state Rep. Timothy Marks, D-Pittsfield, said. He and other committee members, including the House chairman, state Rep. Mark Dion, D-Portland, said they preferred the model for deadly force to be one that depends on an imminent danger to the officer or other people. Dion is a former Cumberland County sheriff.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:17:57 +0000
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