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| Creativity behind bars |
| By worldmag.com |
| Published: 09/01/2009 |
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THOMASTON, Maine—"Neptune's ride" sits in the window of the Maine State Prison Industries showroom in this town about an hour's drive from Portland. Carved from wood, Neptune is portrayed as a bare-chested, long-bearded, big-muscled biker, clad in blue jeans: He's holding with one hand a motorcycle handlebar and clutching a trident in the other. Behind him, sitting side-saddle, is a voluptuous mermaid with long, strategically-placed hair, and a tail that skims the "watery" base of the sculpture. The large-as-life sculpture—if Neptune were standing, he'd be about 6 feet 4 inches—is an amazing bit of wood-carving, with shading to highlight Neptune's sixpack abs. The bike is carved in great detail, with a Harley motor, straight pipe exhaust, and a custom chopper tank painted in shades of neon orange, yellow, and blue. But it's amazing—and a testimony to Maine government's creativity—that "Neptune's Ride" exists at all, given the limitations on prison industry programs in most other states. Prison industries aren't anything new. Most states run programs that employ inmates to produce license plates, garments, and furniture. The industries are heavily regulated—or "handcuffed," as Bob Walden, the manager of Maine's prison industries, puts it—at both the federal and state levels. A Depression-era federal law keeps prisons from taking part in interstate commerce: They can't ship prison-made goods across state lines. Laws in many states allow only government agencies and public schools to purchase prison-made products. The various regulations show an ambivalence toward prison labor. Private companies and labor unions fear unfair competition. Some human-rights groups fear exploitation, while other groups believe that useful work is part of prisoner rehabilitation. Most prison industries try to be selfsustaining. From the income generated through sales, they pay salaries, maintenance, and utilities. Depending on pay scales, prisoner salaries go toward restitution, child support, sometimes room and board—with a little making it into prisoners' personal accounts. Read More. |
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