In 1976, the Legislature made the decision to eliminate parole in the state of Maine, believing, at the time, that more transparent sentencing guidelines made parole unnecessary.
Forty-seven years later, we can now see that a comprehensive set of guidelines to sentencing may, alone, not actually be the best approach. Consider the current picture of our incarcerated population, and the challenges and stresses it places on our law enforcement infrastructure. Given the nature of the offenses for which we currently lock up a large number of Mainers, we all deserve an opportunity to rethink the state’s current position about parole.
That’s why LD 178, An Act to Support Re-entry and Reintegration into the Community, deserves our support.