The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is one of the groups behind the case against President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship that's now before the Supreme Court.

Proponents say the bill — passed by the Legislature this week and expected to be signed by Gov. Janet Mills — clarifies an existing law and would allow sheriffs to turn away federal immigration officers in some instances.

They say love is easy when everything is going right. But Shymel and I… we learned what love really is when everything wasn’t. There are days when the weight of our reality tries to convince me that something is wrong with us—like love isn’t supposed to feel this hard. But then I remind myself… every couple faces challenges. Ours just looks different. It doesn’t mean our love is broken. If anything, it proves just how strong it is. We’ve had moments where frustration could’ve

Rikers Island. Photo by Karsten Moran Two men who had been held on Rikers Island died in the past week, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would “pursue every avenue” to shut the troubled facility as soon as possible. Read the full article in The New York Time .

Every Monday for over a decade, I left my home on Peaks Island, Maine, boarded a ferry to town then drove inland to the Maine correctional center to lead a creative writing class for incarcerated women.

HMP Wandsworth in London. Arriving at a prison – any prison – still makes my heart race a little faster. I have been to more than 100 prisons for my research into how architecture and design can assist in rehabilitating offenders. But my first visit after 18 months of lockdown, to a prison deep in one of England’s most rural counties, felt especially disorienting. I sat quietly for a moment looking up at the towering wall that encircles the car park. It’s topped with coils of

In the 1990s, growing up as a young Black boy in New York often meant learning survival before you ever learned freedom.

Expected floorplan of new Penobscot County Jail (Penobscot County Sheriff's Office) BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - As the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office works toward building a new jail, some local groups have come out against it. For over a decade, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office has been looking at layouts and locations for a new jail to replace the one that last saw renovations in 1988. Read the full article on WABI5 .

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with author Reginald Dwayne Betts about his new collection of poems, "Doggerel," a meditation on family, friendship and falling in love. Via NPR.

Today marks 63 years since the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which guarantees the effective assistance of counsel for low-income people as a matter of constitutional right. It is worth taking stock of how far we have come and how far we have not. While lawyers and lawmakers around the country mark this structural constitutional landmark, the Maine Legislature this month voted on an appropriation request to fund Maine’s already inadequate and failed

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited Rikers Island Monday to observe Iftar, or the breaking of the fast, with inmates. Via NPR .

There was a time when I almost gave up. My faith in God was becoming attenuated. I was losing myself, mentally and physically.

Prison visitation is supposed to preserve family bonds. That’s the official narrative.

People often say marriage is about love, loyalty, and standing beside the person you choose for life. But when your husband is behind prison walls, marriage becomes something different. It becomes endurance. It becomes sacrifice. It becomes a quiet kind of strength most people will never understand.

Please consider signing this petition to bring Shymel home.

Courts have ruled Maine’s indigent defense system is in violation of defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights. The state’s public defense agency has run out of money to pay the private defense lawyers it contracts with, who handle the vast majority of constitutionally-mandated indigent legal services in Maine. Hundreds of private attorneys who work for the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services will now go unpaid for legal work that they have already done, and will not be paid

“Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.” Zechariah 9:12 As we navigate this season of reflection and renewal, we want to share with everyone an open letter from our associate Gordon, who is currently serving a sentence at the Maine State Prison in Warren. Writing on behalf of his fellow residents, Gordon reaches out directly to the diverse faith communities in and around the Portland, Maine area. His messa