AUGUSTA - Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, introduced LD 1086 Monday before the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, which would define "solitary confinement" in Maine law.
"I have introduced LD 1086 so that we can better understand how solitary confinement is practiced in Maine's jails and prisons," said Lookner. "As it currently stands, there is no singular definition for solitary confinement. No matter the words that an individual or an institution uses to describe this condition, it is imperative that the state defines the term so we can have agreed upon language when and if the Legislature decides to approach this issue in future sessions."
LD 1086 would define solitary confinement as, "the isolation of a client from the general population of the jail or correctional facility where the client is detained by confinement in a cell or other place for 22 hours or more within a 24-hour period."
The committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Lookner, who represents a portion of Portland, is serving his second term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and the Joint Select Committee on Housing.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Lookner], 305-965-2744