Is solitary confinement torture?
10/24/09 | 87 comments

Is solitary confinement torture?


Proposed bill would place limits on use of solitary confinement in state prison
By Abigail Curtis
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE
Raymond Luc Levasseur of Waldo has been involved in writing new legislation on solitary confinement at state prisons in Maine. Convicted for a string of bombings against corporate and government infrastructure, Levasseur spent 18 years in federal and state prisons, 15 of those years in solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement.

Those two words carry a lot of meaning to Raymond Luc Levasseur of Waldo, who said he spent 15 years in solitary confinement during his 18 years in federal prison after a conviction for a string of terrorist bombings in the 1970s and early 1980s.

“I think it’s recognized by most people that extended solitary confinement is going to cross the line at some point to psychological torture of an individual,” Levasseur said earlier this week. “I’ve seen everything from suicides to people slipping into total depression, becoming extremely violent, smearing themselves with feces because there’s nothing left to do.”

Levasseur, 62, bombed his way to notoriety as a member of the radical group the United Freedom Front, which was linked to the bombings of 19 buildings, including Central Maine Power Co. headquarters in Augusta and the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston.

He once was listed among the FBI’s Most Wanted and served parts of his prison term in Marion, Ill., and Atlanta, and in a Supermax facility in Florence, Colo. He also served part of his sentence in Maine State Prison in Thomaston in 1984, where he spent four months “in the hole.” In 2004 he was released from the prison in Atlanta to a Portland halfway house.

Now, the ex-convict is fighting a different battle, this one against the use of solitary confinement in Maine. He’s one of the proponents of the proposed legislation, “An Act to Reduce the Use and Abuse of Solitary Confinement,” which will be taken up by the Maine Legislature in January during the emergency legislative session. A committee of the Legislature, the Maine Legislative Council, voted last week to consider the bill.

“I don’t think anybody can come out of an experience in extended solitary confinement without some damage to them,” he said. “I would think that basic human values would lead people to support this bill. But if for no other reason than self-interest — 98 percent of these people come back out to the streets of our communities. Do you want someone who’s driven to the point of becoming delusional, having violent fantasies because of prolonged solitary confinement, coming into our communities?”

‘The level of torture’

One hundred cells at the Maine State Prison in Warren are used to keep prisoners out of the general inmate population and in isolation for as many as 23 hours a day. An average of 80 prisoners are kept each day in this “Special Management Unit,” which is meant to discipline unruly prisoners or to keep guards, staff and prisoners safe.

But many, including state Rep. Jim Schatz, D-Blue Hill, argue that the practice of using solitary confinement can be more like torture, especially for prisoners with mental and physical illnesses, and that its use should be much more limited and regulated in Maine.

“Since Guantanamo, we keep seeing that the use of segregation and solitary confinement is not so much a treatment as a punishment and a control aspect. That just doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said last week. “These confinements do rise to the level of torture, at worst. At best, they are control techniques.”

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Schatz sponsored the bill, which is aimed specifically at the Department of Corrections and not county jail facilities. It does not mince words to describe the practice of segregating prisoners.

“Solitary confinement is extreme administrative sanction with the potential to cause severe harm to life and health, particularly for people with mental and physical illnesses and disabilities,” reads the draft legislation. “Therefore, prolonged solitary confinement shall only be imposed under the most extreme circumstances, when no lesser restraints on liberty are sufficient to achieve its specified limited purposes.”

The bill instructs the Department of Corrections that its “prisoners with serious mental illness shall not be placed in SMU” and all prisoners housed in the unit would be evaluated by a licensed mental health professional at least every seven days.

It also states that prisoners could not be confined in a Special Management Unit for more than 45 days unless it’s established at a hearing that an inmate “committed or attempted to commit” an act of violence resulting in serious injury or death, an act in connection with a sexual assault or an escape or attempted escape.

“I would never be in a position to state that isolation or segregation is a technique that should never be used,” Schatz said. “We do indeed have policies, but they lack due process, and certainly do not have the type of scrutiny you’d want to have in any institutional setting.”

23 hours a day

If this strongly worded bill becomes a strongly worded law, it likely would change how things are done at the Maine State Prison. The state prison is the only facility in the Maine Department of Corrections to officially use solitary confinement — always called “segregation” — in its Special Management Unit, according to Associate Commissioner Denise Lord.

While certain cells are designated for disciplinary segregation at other correctional facilities around the state, they are used only sporadically and for a few hours at a time.

Referring to the SMU, Lord said, “It looks like a regular prison facility.”

New warden has high hopes
for state prison

WARREN, Maine — A ship made at the Maine State Prison sits on Patricia Barnhart’s desk at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, Mich. It’s one sign that the prison’s next warden is eager to start her new job.

Click to read more.

About half the prisoners kept in segregation are there because they are being disciplined, and those prisoners stay less than a month. The other half of the unit comprises prisoners who are “administratively segregated,” and they can stay much longer, an average of four months, she said.

“In administrative segregation, it’s been determined that you are a risk to yourself or to others,” she said. “The risk has to be reduced before you can go back into the general population.”

Lord would not speak directly about the proposed legislation, saying she hasn’t seen a final version of the bill.

“We’re going to obviously look at it carefully,” Lord said. “I don’t want to make comments without having a full understanding of what the bill represents.”

But she readily shared the policy that governs the SMU, where prisoners spend 23 hours a day alone with their thoughts, with access to books, correspondence and religious and legal materials, according to the Department of Corrections policy on “special management prisoners.”

In the remaining hour, the inmates come out for exercise, their one weekly phone call, to use showers or for scheduled “no contact” visits through a Plexiglas screen.

The present policy does not prohibit mentally ill prisoners from being placed in segregation, and all inmates in the unit see a licensed mental health worker when they are first moved there, after 30 days and then every 90 days, Lord said.

‘Crazier and crazier’

But that is simply not enough oversight of mental illness, said a Hancock County woman whose husband has been in solitary confinement since the spring and suffers from bipolar disorder and other troubles.

The woman, who requested that her name not be used, said her husband is a convicted sex offender who wanted to be transferred to Special Management Unit because he was afraid for his physical safety. Now, after months living with limited human interaction and without the solace of even a radio or television, his mental safety seems to be in question.

“The letters started getting crazier and crazier,” she said. “Where he should be is protective custody. He himself believes that you shouldn’t have radios in solitary confinement. You do need to be punished, but for a certain amount of time. This is too long.”

One of the letters written by her husband seemed to show the difficulties of isolation.

“I have moments when it feels like the next minute seems like ten years,” he wrote. “My mind is going a thousand miles per hour, sometimes going over the same old things when I get depressed and frustrated, which is often.”

Rebecca Eilers, a psychology professor at the University of Maine who specializes in development and mental health, said the amount of time spent in solitary confinement is directly related to how much damage the practice can do.

“Certainly, prolonged isolation can lead to depression, despair and something called sensory deprivation, where you have no outside stimulation. You can actually start imagining things,” she said. “That’s the problem with isolation. Human beings are social. When they don’t have someone to interact with, they tend to invent something in their minds.”

Eilers, who said she has researched isolation in mental institutions but not prisons, said she sees a big difference in the use of solitary confinement to keep someone safe and its use as a punishment.

“It seems to me that solitary doesn’t need to be punishing,” she said. “I think that it’s important that there’s some independent oversight over this issue, to see how people are faring, if they’re being placed in solitary for prolonged periods of time.”

Schatz said he hopes the bill will start a conversation about the use of isolation. He is “optimistic” that the Department of Corrections “won’t become defensive.”

“I’m convinced that they’ll be very cooperative,” he said. “These are styles of confinements that have been in place a long time. They’ve been institutionalized. We have to break that.”

Newly appointed Maine State Prison Warden Patricia Barnhart is from Michigan where segregation has legislative oversight.

“It’s got a very specific use,” she said this week.

“You have to be informed about why you’re doing what you’re doing.”

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Comments
87 comments on this item
On 10/23/09 at 7:57 PM, glenna wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Usually such confinement - 23 hours a day in solitary confinement and 1 hour in a solitary exercise area - is considered restricted to a Super Max facility (super maximum security) such as Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California for example. Inmates assigned to an Ad seg unit in a super max facility are traditionally extremely violent, prison gang leaders or an extreme danger to others (inmates or staff). Inmates who are mentally or emotionally ill should be placed in a special facility staffed for that specific purpose, such as California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville, California and even then, they are routinely evaluated for their mental/psychologial status.

Even with California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation' current overcrowding problems, it appears to be light years ahead of Maine, which appears to be still be in the days of the "Shawshank Redemption".

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On 10/23/09 at 8:05 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is there anything that is not torture?

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On 10/23/09 at 8:07 PM, a_realrain_willcome wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"Levasseur, 62, bombed his way to notoriety"

excellent wordplay Angela Curtis

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On 10/23/09 at 8:09 PM, patom1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Oh, just beaurtiful. The inmates get to run even more of the prisons. Do any of these morons know why they were put in solitary?? There are quite a few reasons. Some of them include a threat to others and themselves. Some of them are because of the crime the inmate is convicted of and they are there for their own protection from what other inmates might do to them. Some of them are there because they don't play well with others, at all.

Mr. Lavasseur was involved in a number of bombings of public places, which might have endangered the lives of the people who worked in these institutions. Putting emergency personel into danger because of his actions. If he spent 15 years in PC (Protective Custody), it was for a reason. More than likely a very good reason. Only he and the people who had to deal with him in the various prisons he was housed in can tell you the particulars. I'm quite sure that the legislators who are pushing this bill have never been a corections officer and had to deal with these people. If they can spare the time, it might behove them to at least ask for the particulars on Lavasseur's career in prison, to find out why he was put into PC for that much time. If they do gather this information from the people who actually have to deal with inmates, it would probably be a first in the annals of Legislation.

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On 10/23/09 at 8:29 PM, Kevin_of_Bangor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If this bill comes to fruition it will be a sad day for Maine. Some people need to be confined. It is that simple.

This man should have also been executed a long time ago. He chose his path in life and was punished for it and now is crying.

These idiots only think about their selves. They don't care about anyone else. This person, he is not worthy of being called a man is nothing but scum and he wants scum such as himself to not get proper punishment.

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On 10/23/09 at 8:34 PM, lovedoctor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Amazing...

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On 10/23/09 at 9:21 PM, Lobstarok wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

fine-how about a 50 cent (or maybe a buck) solution instead? I'll be happy to accomadate

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On 10/23/09 at 9:23 PM, Joshua wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Bring back the full frontal lobotomy!!!

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On 10/23/09 at 9:52 PM, justsaying wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

keep this up,, why have prisons at all,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,by the way,,,,,prisoners have a choice,,,,just follow the rules.

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On 10/23/09 at 9:53 PM, bxr3main wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

if a harm to others put the person in prison, of course solitary is only going to reveal their own psychotic thoughts. I spent almost a year and a half in my own little room, (a head injury). I had no evil thoughts. A criminal is a criminal. ..personally, if to be in jail, I would want my own room. who knows what syphilus infected psycho is in the same room.

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On 10/23/09 at 10:12 PM, semperfi wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He bombed 19 places and spent 18 years in jail. I believe he was also involved in some bank robberies and who knows what else. Regardless I think today we would label him a TERRORIST AND HE WOULD BE SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE.

Mr. Madoff got a lot stiffer sentence. He probably deserves it, so why is a terrorist allowed freedom after just 18 years. I would feel a lot better if Madoff got 18 years and Raymond Luc Levasseur got two or three life sentences.

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On 10/23/09 at 10:36 PM, demsuk64 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

He said "I’ve seen everything from suicides to people slipping into total depression, becoming extremely violent, smearing themselves with feces because there’s nothing left to do.”

If it really is "the hole" how did he see these things? If it was really solitary he'd have no human contact at all. The true answer...it's not as bad as it is made out to be. I worked at the Maine State Prison SMU and at a Federal Prison. SMU is not like an old prison movie where you're locked into a dark cell for 30 days, they are allowed exercise, showers, reading material, and can converse all day long with those around them. It's not even called solitary, that is a term used to conjure up dark images to help portray the inmates as victims.

After working in several prisons I have decided that I'd much rather be in segregation if I had to do time...at least you don't have to worry about "lights out".

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On 10/23/09 at 11:02 PM, tysmom wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

They would not even be in prison if it was not for their own poor choices and they also would not be in SMU if not for their own poor choices again, so I really do not feel all that bad for them. If they had behaved they would be outside the prison walls like the rest of us everyday working citizens who are paying for them to at least have a warm place to sleep, showers, medical/dental care and 3 meals a day, there are many homelss people that do not get this and are not complaining about it. I also can't beleive that a "sex offender" wants us to feel bad for them because they are in SMU, had they not molested/raped a child/woman they would not be at risk of being killed or beat up by the other inmates and have to be in protective custody, and they now want a pitty party because they are bored and lonely, I can't speak for everyone but they won't be getting one from me!

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On 10/23/09 at 11:30 PM, letterreader wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The state has absolutely no right to abuse anyone. If they can abuse the most deviant among us, then they can abuse anyone they choose to abuse.

We should / must keep certain misfits off the street. Since we have chosen to keep them off the street for whatever reason, we should model the appropriate behavior we want them to learn. Being abusive ( sloitary confinement) to the weakest link among us does not foster a cure or a change of heart. We must be humane and PERSISTANT about the behaviour we expect. Being punitive teaches no one anything. It teaches them that they were right in their feeling that they are hated and that they must lash out. They are damaged and weaker than us. We must show them the way.

Keep them off the street but be kind and reinforcing. They need the exact opposite of solitary: they need a comeuppance that only kindness will give them.

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On 10/23/09 at 11:38 PM, miamijohn17 wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 10/23/09 at 11:54 PM, msfreeh wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maine voters and taxpayers refuse to see themselves as the primary consumers of our prison system.

It cost over $35,000.00 to keep 1 man in a Maine prison for 1 year. This figure does not include court costs,

police costs , welfare costs for his family or costs to the victim.

What happens in these electronic cesspools is the man becomes a more vicious and competent criminal.

He is surrounded 24/7 for years at a time by rapists, murderers, arsonists, pedophiles, armed robbers.

These are his role models , and teachers.

Current statistics for the recidivism rates at Maine State prisons hovers around 70%. That means

70 out of 100 people once released from prison will return. This figure is an inaccurate barometer

of how many men go on to create new crimes when they are released from prison. They have to

be caught to become a recidivism statistic. Many will commit multiple crimes before they are caught.

I was hoping the reporter could have asked Mr Levasseur what he thought about Restorative Justice.

As long as Maine voters and taxpayers refuse to become involved in their criminal justice system

then its organizational model will be based on fear and punitive justice. The system is only as high\as the people running it.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:31 AM, militaryman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maine needs the death penalty! Stream line the appeals process and start ridding society of the worst degenerates. It cost way too many tax dollars to continue the way we are!

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On 10/24/09 at 12:33 AM, Woodlander wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Who cares what this ex-con thinks?You don't behave in prision you get solitary simple as that.

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On 10/24/09 at 2:14 AM, BarbaraM99 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am not in the know on this subject. Yet us humans are soial beings.. It is true this nation has more locked up. Yet turture should be out lawed. What is to be done with the person who willfully turtures others and kills them. They do need to answer for that. Is putting them in the hole the right thing. A Rageful inmate and or staff has to be dealt with. We as a nation has to redo the prison system. They learn to be more harden crooks. I think it breaks them down. It is not much better than the time the church turtured .Thet are sent to prisom, do their time and come out messed up. What do we do.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:26 AM, nonsense wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Gee, prison is a difficult place. Perhaps we forget that inmates are there for a reason. My mother was working in the building that Levasseur bombed in Augusta. He defines his incarceration as torture. What do you think it was like for my mother to return to work every day in the building that he had bombed? We tend to forget that terrorists specifically act by taking away our security and causing us to live in fear. Let's not also let them manipulate us into thinking that they have it worse than they cause it to be for us.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:44 AM, OrlandBob wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Cry me a river you rotten terrorist bast*rd.

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On 10/24/09 at 4:28 AM, Amazed wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

These folks are in prison for a reason... prison is punishment for those who have done wrong, not a luxury hotel with top rated food, gym, library and college education, complete with medical and dental care... how's that for a free ride?!! As far as I'm concerned prisoners are treated much too well... almost like sending a child who spat on their youngest sibling, on a nice luxury vacation... do you think it would make them think about the consequences of their actions? Of course not!! It would encourage bad behavior... Remember Pavlov's Theory?

I'm not in favor if physically or mentally hurting these people, but I personally think we should bring back the days of them getting bread and water twice a day. Prison should be a place that NO-ONE every wants to go again... a deterrent, not a free pass to go where they're treated better than Kings and Queens and certainly better than our elderly who worked hard their entire lives and did nothing wrong to deserve having to freeze or starve to death at the end of their life.

This man is nothing but a con... and he's trying to convince all of you to buy into his thought process... he's a criminal plain and simple. If this keeps up, prison will be a place that even I will want to go... geeze!!

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On 10/24/09 at 4:34 AM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Levasseur, your comment about "Basic human values" cracked me up! Are you KIDDING ME?!! Where were YOUR basic human values when you were bombing places?!! He's got more nerve than brains! If someone is in prison for doing harm to someone else, I'm not going to concern myself with what harm comes to them. Further more, I WANT them to be depressed...VERY DEPRESSED for the duration of their confinement. Jail is not suppose to be a fun place!

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On 10/24/09 at 4:35 AM, justsaying wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

when you take away accountability at a young age,, it carries over too adulthood,,,,,,,,,fact,,,,,,criminals love to be and act tough,,untill you collar them. when i was young, i heard all the stories about jail/ prisons,,fact,,, thats whats kept me straight all these years along with morals,,,,whats the answer,,,,,there isnt one i can tell you that..course thats my opinion. life here in the UNITED STATES has taught me that we are getting more lenient with just about every aspect of life,,l too many interest groups and lobbyists. there are so many different causes here that deterre us farther and farther away from our original idealistics views and morals of what AMERICA was originally intended too be......i dont have an answer but i think if we keep on the path that we are taking and we are heading to haides in a hand basket,,,,,thew the years we have givin more and more the the prison system such as concessions too the prisoners that we have come to where we are now,,,,,prison is not supposed to be a club... period.you can be kind all you want,, yes some get the help they need,, but majority come out and do it all over again,

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On 10/24/09 at 4:40 AM, skullbones wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Bread and water only for the scum bags

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On 10/24/09 at 5:51 AM, Inland wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is spending an eternity in a coffin considered solitary confinement? You know - like the victims of bombers and murderers...

Stop wasting money on keeping this scum alive. He and his ilk need no pity or concern. What he and many others need is that coffin. And it should be made by inmates out of the cheapest wood available. Or maybe a refrigerator box. And inmates should dig the hole for it so they know where they're going too. Stop with this liberal touchy-feely, hopey-changy stuff and start punishing people who can't or won't act like human beings.

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On 10/24/09 at 6:15 AM, ryanrrobbins wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It's always nice to see the uninformed, self-righteous post without doing much serious thought on an issue...

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On 10/24/09 at 6:16 AM, Robpott wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Shatz, Take the correctional officers training and then mosey up the the special management unit. You'll change your mind. Lavesseur was not in the hole, as he says but in a cell in segregation.

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On 10/24/09 at 6:18 AM, tysmom wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Bartak- You said "further more, I WANT them to be depressed...VERY DEPRESSED for the duration of their confinement. Jail is not suppose to be a fun place" I agree 100% but we all know that if they get depressed they will get depression medication FREE of charge, because we are the ones paying for it, meanwhile someone who is not in prison and working 40 hours a week without insurance can't afford the meds to help with their depression, this is just pathetic! I feel inmates should have to work hard to pay for their warm place to sleep, water for showers, food, medical/dental coverage, etc... make it more like the real world not a free ride like it is now!!!

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On 10/24/09 at 6:52 AM, JeffDubay wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Let's put an electric generator in prisons where the inmates must help turn the turbine when they are not doing something else constructive. Hard work has never really hurt anyone.

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On 10/24/09 at 7:16 AM, schoonerdog wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why are we listening to this terrorist?? TAXATION IS TORTURE!!!!

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On 10/24/09 at 7:20 AM, dogood wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Who cares about them. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time loser!

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On 10/24/09 at 7:45 AM, hankwilliams wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Militaryman, the death penalty is much more expensive than prison. There is no possible way to use it as a cost-saving measure without executing innocent people. A few states have moved to eliminate capital punishment for this very reason. So please stop repeating the fallacious argument that the death penalty is a money-saving measure. It's not, never has been, and never will be.

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On 10/24/09 at 8:10 AM, fredrogers wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree with nonsense and Inland on this too. Again I may have some sympathy IF the prisoners had some empathy and concern put into action to make ammends to thier victims and the victims families whose lives, too many times, as a result of thier actions, have placed their victims and the victims family members in the 'whole" of "...depression, despair .."

I will give the fact that many inmates should be patients at a mental health facility but a very few. And that's what parole boards and parole officers are in place for to stop someone being let out and to monitor them once they get out.

I am sorry but it's always about themselves, the inmate, and with the help of good meaning apologists, try to make us feel sorry for the perpetrators, who get free health care, free food, free cable TV, free clothing, free rides to court, free rides to other events, free mail, free counseling, free, free, free, etc.

But in any case email your state rep to let them know where you are on this bill. I for one would call this bill frivolous, and one of the bills that should have be stripped out in the new process used by the legislature leadership taking away frivolous bills, before we waste more money on too many bills!

.

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On 10/24/09 at 8:13 AM, mmacpuguy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What's next OJ advocating for fairer trials?

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On 10/24/09 at 8:13 AM, Ladyslipper wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Once a Radical always a Radical. This guy was nuts BEFORE solitary confinement not as a result of solitary confinement.....A warped mindset of Hating America and the system is what got him in prison , this present act is just a continuation of his Hate. No amount of therapy or Loving kindness can rehab a Radical minset.

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On 10/24/09 at 8:26 AM, RayHardy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Crimes committed against other s are punisjed by fines and imprisonment, sorry its the law of the land. Prison is not a Hyatt regency hotel.

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On 10/24/09 at 8:35 AM, Gunner wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Unbelievable, what next??? If Levasseur hadn't gotten himself

there in the first place we wouldn't even be having this

discussion. You make wrong choices , you live with

them.And I'd say he made quite a few wrong choices.

this is really a joke actually.

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On 10/24/09 at 8:40 AM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maybe they would like some champagne and caviar during their "stay" as well.

You know, so they don't feel so bad about randomly killing other's loved ones.

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On 10/24/09 at 9:18 AM, localresident wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Don't like the way you were treated in jail, Levasseur? Tough S#@$!!! Room to yourself, fed, and clothed? Sounds like to me like you had it too good.

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On 10/24/09 at 9:40 AM, PointOView wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Losing someone you love in a violent crime is torture. Spending the rest of your life wondering what they suffered during their final moments is torture. Knowing that someone you loved is missing out on life's milestones is torture. Knowing that the person who killed your loved one is still breathing, feeling the sun on his or her face and communicating with his or her loved ones while you suffer and grieve is torture.

I think it's a shame that we can't replay the suffering of crime VICTIMS for everyone to see. Having watched a child be murdered, an elderly woman raped or a family blown to bits, I think, would put the "suffering" of the perpetrators in much better perspective.

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On 10/24/09 at 9:50 AM, patom1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"The bill instructs the Department of Corrections that its “prisoners with serious mental illness shall not be placed in SMU” and all prisoners housed in the unit would be evaluated by a licensed mental health professional at least every seven days."

"The check is in the mail". "I'll love you in the morning." etc.

We don't even give that kind of care to people who are actual mental patients who haven't commited a crime. Unless they have the financial ability to pay for it themselves. The state want's to cut costs all over the place and put freezes on saliries to people who actually work with these inmates. Where do you think they will come up with the money to pay for all these non-existant mental health professionals???

If this legislation is passed, I would sign a petition and donate funds to hire a good law firm to sue the state and the legislators who signed on to the bill. Because when the first person injured or killed, be they inmate or prison personel, there will be law suits flying all over the place.

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On 10/24/09 at 10:26 AM, knowitall wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

In the story they mention that low-level inmates are learning how to become high- level inmates. All the more reason to have a seg unit. Prison is getting to easy. It's like a big reunion when you get new inmates transferd in. In another story a few months ago an inmate was killed in warren. Now the warden and up to 12 c.o.s had to leave the prison. For those of you who think seg is crual and unusual punishment should look at it this way, an 18 year old boy graduates from high school, has a couple of beers at a party, drives off with 2 buddies with him and gets into an accident and kills one of his friends. Now he must go to prison for manslauter where he meets bubba, a child molester who he has to share a cell with. The prison can't do anything about it because bubba has rights and he has to share a cell with someone. Tell me this kid isn't being torcherd every day at the hands of this animal. I sure wouldn't want it to be my son in there with him. Just a different way of looking at it thats all.

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On 10/24/09 at 10:29 AM, sptrout wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

um, maybe you should have thought about what COULD happen to you if you performed an evil deed. In times past, they wouldn't have messed around, you would be HUNG.........end of story. Let's go back to these times.....how much crime WOULD we have if we did so.......THINK about it

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On 10/24/09 at 10:34 AM, bidoux wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

realrain willcome not Angela but Abigaii

lettereader you can be as kind to them as u want but u can not change people by being kind to them If they choose a path of crime they'll continue on this path

miamijohn your comment doesn't make much sense

Ray u can spend the rest of your life in solitary as far as I,m concerned. Your 62 now shouldn't be very long tough it out.

Rep. Jim Schatz I'd rethink what you are proposing.

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On 10/24/09 at 10:41 AM, mmacpuguy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I propose the we refrain from the use of solitary confinement and instead do to the criminals what they did to their victims. Raymond Luc Levasseur, rather than having to suffer the torture of solitary confinement you would suffer being in a building while it's bombed.

Jim Schatz - please read here is the read Levasseur in his own words: http://home.earthlink.net/~neoludd/

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On 10/24/09 at 10:43 AM, jimmiejohnson wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Follow the laws and you wouldn't be in there in the first place!!! No "PITTY" party here, please. If they think this is so awful imagine how the victims and families feel about what they have done. We shouldn't treat criminals to a life at the "holiday inn"!!!! If you follow the law you could avoid the "hole". Why should the lives of the jail staff be put at risk? Get over it "convicts"! If it is that bad go ahead and do what the "voices" in your head tell you to do....

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On 10/24/09 at 11:08 AM, bruno1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hey letterreader, why don' you go get a job at the Maine State Prison! They would eat you up like candy! They are not there because they want to learn, especially from people like you!

First of all, NO, it is not torture. The torture is when this guy beats and mutilates a young girl, cuts her up and dumps her in a pond and then is sent to jail. That is torture. The new guard that gets jumped during recreation, and beaten half to death with out the knowledge that he can actually defend himself againt these monsters without loosing his job. That is torture. We have these confined rooms to ensure the safety and security of the other inmates, the community and the staff that deal with these people everyday. If it was you daughter that was mutilated, would you worry about where this prisoner was housed? I think not. We as guards do the best job we can, and if you think you can do better.....by all means, put your applications in!! Half of the state is hiring for corrections officers....hmmm...whats that tell you, turnover rate is unbelievable. It certainly takes a special breed to deal with these criminals day after day. And if you don't want a job there, let the ones in solitary go home with you!!! These poor prisoners should have thought about their stay in jail before they did the crime, an the sad part is for most of them, its not the first time they have been there! The chain gang works for me!

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On 10/24/09 at 11:20 AM, NOBULL24 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I knew this story would make for good comment reading.

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On 10/24/09 at 11:29 AM, fmrmti wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Sorry, but don't do the crime if you can't do the time. And if you can't do the time by the Gen Pop rules, you go in the Hole. Get it? Now, was it really worth selling all that pot, driving drunk for the fifth time, or breaking into those homes? Perhaps not.

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On 10/24/09 at 11:40 AM, BoBeep wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree w/ these posts. Lock them away for ever. He has mental problems. What about the people he terrorized? What about the children that were molested. You guys did the crime, now do your time.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:03 PM, Amazed wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

No sympathy from these posters!! I'm glad we all agree on this one!!! This man has a big surprise if he was looking for a sympathy committee with this article.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:09 PM, mmacpuguy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If he stole a car then I don't think solitary is quite right per se, but as a hardened terrorist - heck yeah.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:13 PM, Michigal wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

One thing you people forget is that not all the prisoners are rapists and murderers. In fact, most of them are NOT. Most are your friends and family members who maybe had too much to drink a few times and were (fortunately) caught. Or as in most cases, had too much marijuana in their possession, or were selling pills to support their own drug habits.

Now, how many of you self righteous morons smoke a little weed? Probably the majority of you. So, does that "crime" mean you go to prison and be served bread and water and "run" a turbine and all the other punishments you suggest?

And why does a person get thrown into ad seg in the first place? Maybe they got a tattoo in prison. Yep, they get lugged off to SMU for that heinous crime. Is that proper punishment? They're really evil, right? Most are highly intelligent people that I wish would use their skills and intelligence for good, rather they got caught up in drugs.

I visit my son in the prison (he got 4 years for selling 4 pills), and I'm well aware of who's in there and why. Like the young man with a bad driving record, and was on probation which he violated by having a LEGAL beer. Most of these people are just like you and me, and there but for the grace of God go you and I.

You wonder where the state money is going? It's to house prisoners that have NO BUSINESS being in prison. I'm talking about the ones that have committed no VIOLENT crimes. And yet these same people are being thrown into Ad Seg all the time.

Personally, I think if you have no experience at all of what the prison is like, then you all just need to STFU.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:33 PM, David889327 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Do people get sentenced to solitary confinement? Don't they usually have to cause some problem while in prison to be placed in solitary? If the problem behavior is caused by mental illness, they should be treated. If it's not mental illness, solitary may well be appropriate for certain situations and under certain guidelines.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:40 PM, caveman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I have followed Levasseur's story and reign of terror since before he was caught. I have no sympathies for him and feel rather strongly that Rep. Schatz should have a go at solitary for a year or so.

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On 10/24/09 at 1:00 PM, justsaying1970 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If Rep. Schatz pushes this forward then he should be ashamed not only of himself but also he should not be voted in next term. This guy who is claiming a victim was there FOR A REASON!!! I check out his past and he was a person that was and is the worst of the worst. Yes...he paid his debt to society. However, you wait he will re-offend because people that commit crimes like he did ...ALWAYS DO!! Typically the ones who do not re commit crimes are the younger kids that just made a mistake and had to learn. People that commit crimes such as this dirt bag will be right back where they belong. Where dos this end? The criminals just know how to play the system just like people who play the state of maine for the welfare. I know Maine is very liberil...such as raising the amount of marijuana to 2.5 oz and only making it a civil offense. Whether I agree with that or not...when are people going to realize that ever since insurance companies started paying out losers instead of fighting it in court...it is really sad. Stop whinning....man up....and realize you are a criminal that got a second chance!!

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On 10/24/09 at 1:05 PM, chersully2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Re 12:33 PM I think that poster states it well. This is a really difficult issue; one I would not want to have to make determinations about! I think solitary should not be overused, but in some circumstances, some might be necessary (for safety purposes, for one), but monitored carefully. Let these folks have plenty of reading material (not limited) and other things to occupy their mind while also keeping them separated and away from others for safety reasons, but also will not contribute to further mental illness.(once again, very closely monitored and evaluated.)

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On 10/24/09 at 1:07 PM, MagicCity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It would be more expedient to shoot these pieces of S&^T like Levasseur. They are a waste of humanity and steal air from the rest of us. Execute them and save us moneey, then we won't have to read such bleeding heart BS articles like this.

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On 10/24/09 at 1:48 PM, lincolnmainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Michigal, so no one who lives life with out causing trouble enough to get thrown in jail, but works hard to pay for it, should not voice an opinion? If that was the case the only ones running the jails would be criminals. Voice your opinion but don't tell others they shouldn't. Let me guess, you were, or a loved one, went to prison for no reason? Most people in jail use excuses as to why they are. The police set me up, I don't remember selling those pills, the whole world hates me. Boo hoo, I say.

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On 10/24/09 at 2:02 PM, freewill wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The room appears clean. If I had to be in prison I'd prefer private accomodation. Just sayin... .

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On 10/24/09 at 2:20 PM, Amazed wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Freewill 10/24/09 2:02 PM~ I'm with you on this one. I'd prefer to have m own room too.

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On 10/24/09 at 2:47 PM, Centaurmyst wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It really depends on the inmate. Some people are isolated for their own protection. Some are isolated because they are dangerous to other inmates and staff. Some are isolated for medical reasons. Long term isolation is not something that should be done except in extreme situations where it really is necessary. Some people actually develop server mental illness from solitary confinement. Prisons are, indeed, to punish, but since most prisoners WILL eventually get out again it's kinda stupid not to also attempt to rehabilitate. Why on earth would we want to do things to make them even worse when they're going to be getting out again? That would just make them commit even worse crimes later.

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On 10/24/09 at 2:49 PM, jimbastion wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Too bad. I hope he is miserable. And it sounds as if he is.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:04 PM, LilMikey wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why is this guy even being given space in this paper?

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On 10/24/09 at 3:08 PM, dogman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This guy opened a real can of worms. I couldn't even read the whole article let alone all the comments. This seems like a real credible individual to be trying to make our laws more passive towards criminals. Why not let the convicts run the prison? If you've screwed up enough to go to prison, ecspecially more than once, you have no rights. If you can't control your behavior enough to be allowed in society you don't deserve special treatment from the taxpayers, you should feel lucky to be housed and fed, not to mention medical care. Maybe after reaching a certain point you should be deemed incouragable and be put down like a rabid dog not pampered. This guy is probably disabled now for all the abuses the prison system has caused him and is spouting all this nonsense because he has time on his hands. I bet if he had worked all his life instead of spending it in prison or if he was working now he might have a different opinion on how HIS tax dollars were spent.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:09 PM, Michigal wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Dear lincolnmainer,

Obviously, you cannot read (or rather comprehend) very well. You state: "Let me guess, you were, or a loved one, went to prison for no reason?"

In my post I clearly state my son was sentenced to prison for four (4) years for selling four(4) pills (Oxycontin...the same crap that your hero Rush Limbaugh is addicted to).

He admits he did wrong, he's serving his time. He is an intelligent, funny and like so many others in there, are not Pieces of S**t as you and others call them. They are people just like you. And you're saying that they should all be thrown into sol. confinement because of the mere fact they're in prison.

I reiterate: Only those that have been in, or have knowledge of prison, should have the right to call someone those names and go on about shooting them or electrocuting them, or the myriad other "punishments" you hicks are coming up with for them.

Certainly everyone may state their opinion, as long as it's valid and not some lame "Put them all to death" type comment.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:21 PM, dogman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If the punishment for the crime were harsher people would be less likely to commit the crime. As for Michigal I feel bad for you as a parent and hopefully your son will learn from his bad experience a whole lot sooner than this Levassuer guy did.

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On 10/24/09 at 4:33 PM, Beelzebubba wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Rep. Jim Schatz, D-Blue Hill

Notice the big fat D after his name? Democrats love domestic bombers...

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On 10/24/09 at 4:35 PM, RevGerald wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

How about some justice for the victims of the war crimes of Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Bill Clinton, LBJ.......???

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On 10/24/09 at 6:15 PM, anotherneighbor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'd love the chance to respond to this jerk in person! And I believe I have a life experience that this jerk has never considered..

Try being married to a correction officer. Being about 5 months pregnant. And hearing over the scanner a PAT alarm go off for his area of the jail. And in fact his usual job. And the only words spoken with the PAT alarm were ... med escort and med tech hostages taken. The jail went to lock down mode. The outside phone lines were shut down. It took over 4 hours for me to find out it had been his partner and not him taken hostage.

Imagine the night still pregnant... the inmates read his nametag ( a mandatory part of the uniform ) and looked thru the phonebook till they found his phone number. Called me repeatedly told me things like 10 of them had jumped him and they were all taking turns with him etc.

Take away all their access to pay phones. The law only requires they get one call when they are arrested. Take away their tvs. And take away their choice of each meal - depending on what religion or nationality they care to claim this week!

Do the crime do the time... and we the law abiding citizens need to stand up and stop this federal state and local country clubs these jerks are living in.

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On 10/24/09 at 6:27 PM, SPALUMNI wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well, first who are we talking about here? Abigail Curtis says it's Raymond Luc Levasseur. Would that also be John Joseph Mocchi, Edward John Pichette, Robert Raymond, Walter Rogers with nick names of "jimmy", Melville" and "ANIMAL"? Oh Yeah!! Fine upstanding citizen with so many alias's !! The same known associate of Thomas William Manning AKA Barry Annese, Barry Collins, Barry Eastbury, Barry G. Easterly, James Graves, Michael Harris and Thomas J. Stockwell wanted for the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper on December 21, 1981 on I-80 along with one Richard Charles Williams AKA Robert Alan Dawkins, Robert Farnum and Jesse Lockman nickname "Dickey." Tattoos - Manning - Black Panther's head on left forearm. Levassuer - Black Panther's head on left forearm with "LIBERATION". Coincidence? Who else was running around bombing places and robbing banks? How about Black Liberation Army, Black Panthers (Recently revived and showing up at polls to intimidate voters!) UNITED FREEDOM FRONT? Out right low life criminal thugs with a nice, nice name? Now these fine upstanding citizens were traveling around doing their good deeds with their WIVES (who were also wanted for questioning in connection with the Murder of the Trooper) AND CHILDREN!! An infant born 12/14/81 and the Trooper murdered 12/21/81. Merry Christmas Troopers and families. 4 others at the time were 3, 4, 5 and 10.

Solitary Confinement is torture? This lowlife piece of human defecation is lucky that's all he got. He spent 15 out of 18 years in solitary? He spent part of his time in MSP @ Thomaston in 1984 where he spent 4 months in the "hole." He doesn't know what the old REAL HOLES were like on the ROCK. 4 months in solitary in MaineSP during an 18 year sentence. C'mon, don't make it look like Maine is overly harsh. The SOB was in solitary in at least three other states.The only way that you are put there is if you put yourself there by constantly disobeying the rules. And Mr. Bleeding Heart left wing criminal sympathizer State Rep. Schitz (D) should use his legislation for toilet paper. That's disgraceful legislation.!!

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On 10/24/09 at 6:44 PM, MagicCity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Put animals like Levassuer in solitary and let them climb the walls, smear them selves with feces and keep them there until they die , hopefully of a slow, miserable, horrifice death. Broadcast the whole thing over the intenet so that society can get some satisfaction in ther demise.

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On 10/24/09 at 7:22 PM, dogman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

With all the issues facing this country right now I don't know why this dirtbag even gets newspaper coverage let alone the` attention of our politicians to debate this subject. At least Michgal has the right to an opinion on this subject. This Levasseur or whoever he is gave up his right to be heard when he was convicted of his first crime. Sounds like this guy has never been a hard working, tax paying citizen, let alone a parent. BDN shouldn't waste the print on him. Sounds like he should have been executed years ago.

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On 10/24/09 at 7:35 PM, LawDisOrder wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Just a thought but should we maybe ask the correction officers who work in these places and have to deal with prisoners who spit on them, throw urine and fesses on them, make weapons to use against other prisoners and the officers. People end up in these place because they are not nice people. Why we would want a convicted terrorist bomber deciding how prisoners is beyond me. But then again this is Maine and we tend to do some strange things don't we.

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On 10/25/09 at 2:01 AM, anotherneighbor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You might want to ask yourself if this non-newsworthy article was put here for the same reason the non-newsworthy month old report of a Millinocket cop was. The answer you could read if comment section hadn't been closed on it. Wake up people they are putting in mindless blabber to take the heat off Mr. Lee! I just wonder who got to them?

Oh yea and the reason the bill is a ridiculous waste of paper. Look at the D after the name! That explains it. You Mainer's will never learn just keep electing them... heck ya even got one to dress up and call herself a Republican. Sorry Olympia but just like Obama I don't believe a word comes out your mouth!

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On 10/25/09 at 7:16 AM, patom1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

michagal, was selling 4 oxy's the only thing your son did? First time offender? Never did anything else? Must be fun living in Egypt on DeNile.

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On 10/25/09 at 8:42 AM, JudyBouchard wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I guess I just don't care if these criminals, who undoubtedly have committed horrific crimes in the first place, are held in solitary confinement. I am thinking that the victims and their families have been forced to endure their own kind of solitary confinement. "solitary confinement of the heart."

Most likely, the criminals subjected their victims to torture. Torture of mind and body. I am heartsick of the criminals who are let out and then commit similar crimes again. There are worse kinds of torture than solitary confinement.

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On 10/25/09 at 10:53 AM, SPALUMNI wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Schatz should adopt poor 62 year old crusader convict Luc Levasseur and employ him at his Inn.

Representative James M. Schatz

District 37 - Representing Blue Hill, Brooksville, Castine, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Surry

PO Box 437

Blue Hill, ME 04614

Home tel: (207) 266-9789

Home email jimmschatz@gmail.com

Legislature RepJimSchatz@legislature.maine.gov

About Rep. Schatz

Rep. Schatz is serving his third term in the House of Representatives. He is a member of the Legislature’s Committee on State and Local Government as well as the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Schatz holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and a Master of Arts degree in correctional administration. He taught courses at the University of Colorado in treatment of offenders, and later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Prior to working for 20 years in state government in employment training and economic development, Schatz was a civil servant for the United States Post Office, and received a commendation for his service from the Postmaster General.

Currently, Schatz is an innkeeper in Blue Hill, and has served on the Blue Hill Select Board for the last 14 years.

A dedicated and involved member of the Blue Hill community, Rep. Schatz is a member of the Peninsula Area Team for Health, Steering Committee for the Healthy Peninsula Project, Hancock County Budget Committee and Board of Selectmen. He is also a former member of the Hancock County Planning Commission and the Eastern Maine Development Corporation.

Rep. Schatz and his wife Marcia live in Blue Hill. They have four children.

To view high resolution photos of Rep. Jim Schatz click here.

How's that for EGO.

Uh Oh! There's the answer.. TWO LIBERAL Arts degrees! One, a Masters in Correctional Administration. His base for that was a Bachelors in Anthropoligy. Wonderful.He taught courses at the University of Colorado in treatment of offenders. But where's the experience? Oh, he was a mailman. And he got a commendation from the Postmaster General !!! FOR HIS SERVICE!! That is in addition to getting a nice paycheck, benefits, retirement pension WITH an annual COLA. If he retired from there. Then another 20 years in State government. What State? Gee, Another government job with a nice paycheck, benefits and a nice retirement pension. That's called double dipping. Been on lots of Committees but doesn't show any accomplishments. Degrees and Teaching are NOT field experience. That's just taking theory that's been plagerized from other degree holders and passing it around. Looks like another "self-made Indian Chief" by gathering credentials for his bonnet. The atypical North East carpet bagger. Hillary C., Kennedys. etc. Which coincidently all have the trademark (D) after their names.

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On 10/25/09 at 12:57 PM, EastCoastGirl wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

These people torture society in general. Let them be tortured with their own thoughts in solitary confinement. They deserve it.

Whether they are selling drugs or killing people - they are a menace to society and deserve all the consequenes.

Aside from mental illness, these people knowingly commit these crimes. No sympathy here.

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On 10/25/09 at 2:35 PM, sassyfrazz wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Gee, here's an idea: Stay out of jail. It's supposed to be unpleasant. It's called a "deterrent" for a reason.

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On 10/25/09 at 7:30 PM, NickVelvet wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Seems to me Levasseur has more common sense and more honesty than....say any member of the Cheney administration.

Or the teabag loons that support it. Reading these comments, Ill bet you'd find those baying for Levasseurs blood ALSO cheer on the torture of "suspects", the notion that such wingnut luminaries as Sarah Palin is fit to command, and consider themselves "Christians"......

Way to go, Sir. You went down for standin up for the powerless & they couldnt beat that out of you.

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On 10/26/09 at 4:55 AM, patom1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Levasseur and others of his kind are not powerless. They have the ability to make decisions. We all have the power to make decisions until we are put in a situation that takes the decision making process away. Even then you still have some decision making ability.

Levasseur made the decision to become an terrorist against what ever powers he deemed needed blowing up. He got arrested and convicted of these crimes, did his sentence. He seems to show no remorse for his crimes or the anguish and fear he caused many people. He hated the government, for whatever reasons he thought he had. Now he wishes to use that government to manipulate it again.

The actions of Levasseur are very familiar. Familiar in the sense that for the most part, the inmate poplulation of our jails and prisons are, as a group, some of the most selfish indiviuals you will ever find. They may espouse that they are stand up guys, who wouldn't rat on anyone, will look out for their buddy's, etc. The fact is that if they feel that it will be to their advantage, they will rat out their own family in order to suit their own personal comfort. They will manipulate everyone they come in contact with for their own gain. These are the realities of the prison populations.

Rep. Shatz, having lived a nice life teaching, delivering mail, running a little Inn, being on commitees, etc. has never been in contact with people like Levasseur long enough to learn the truth. He is being conned by a con.

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On 10/26/09 at 4:59 AM, freetospeak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This guy Levasseur is a joke. He obviously made the wrong decisions while incarcerated or he wouldn't have been in solitary so much. Every human being has to be held accountable for the decisions he or she makes. In prisons there has to be some sort of control. And, solitary is a type of control to protect other prisoners and staff. I am a corrections officer. If the public knew of some of the things prisoners get away with they would be outraged. So, just shut up Levasseur or anyone else who wants to cry torture. You want to see torture, go to a "real" prison outside of Maine. Prisoners choose not to follow rules so therefore they choose to go to segregation. If going to seg is torture then one needs to think about victims of some of the crimes committed then let's talk about who is tortured. Grow up Levasseur and face the reality that you have always been a piece of s--t.

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On 10/26/09 at 9:38 AM, mattecamp wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

here is an idea- stay out of trouble. Does he think bombing is torture?

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On 10/26/09 at 3:38 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It is complete and total B.S. that Maine throws people into the slammer and they end up in solitary for just simple petty things.

Normally the people who claim this are the families of criminals who often enable their deviant behavior in the first place.

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On 10/26/09 at 3:43 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

NickVelvet -- yep, multiple terrorist bombings are a laugh a minute. Of course, you probably wouldn't feel that way if it was someone close to you that got blown to bits by one of his bombs.

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