Prison Laborers in Westbrook

Last Thursday, the PPH had an article about some of the reasons lawmakers oppose Governor Baldacci's plans to export some of the state's prisoners to out-of-state facilities, including the fact that some prisoners provide cheap labor for towns:

Minimum-security inmates are allowed out of prison, under supervision, to work on projects in
area towns, including Windham, Gorham, Westbrook, Raymond, Gray and
others, [staff development specialist Carol Waig] said. In 2008, they
contributed 9,097 hours of labor to towns, valued at roughly $109,173, she said.
In her town [Windham], the prisoners clean cemeteries and built the park across from Town
Hall.

According to City Administrator Jerre Bryant, inmates constructed a lunch room at the Public Services garage about five years ago, painted the interior of the Mechanic Street fire station in 2007, and painted the exterior of the Route 302 fire station last year.

- John C.L. Morgan