Kudos to Maine Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty and Maine State Prison Warden Matt Magnusson for their enlightened views on prisons (“Sounds of silence at Maine State Prison,” April 20, 2022). Their focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment is paying dividends with Maine’s low recidivism rate, the lowest in New England.
It was heartening to read the comments of residents Del Hathaway and Joseph Nguany, who have experienced less physical and psychic pain as a result of the Vipassana meditation course. One wishes that such efforts to help and rehabilitate those confined to prison would be more widespread. It was painful to read that few other prisons signed on to the Vipassana course.
We are besieged every day with horrific news. How uplifting it was to read an article that offers hope and encouragement.
Barbara Doughty
Portland
