Epic Fail

Paul LePage, the newly-elected governor of Maine, just declared that he is "looking to take the politics out of [Maine's} prisons." Which is curious considering he not only accepted $25,000 in campaign contributions from CCA, which doesn't even currently have a prison in the state - he also just appointed a CCA warden who has worked with the company for over 5 years to run the Department of Corrections.

Mr. LePage, that's an epic fail. As State Rep. Haskell said, "The only political part of this has been the part where CCA is a very politically active organization, and so I think the governor is bringing it in--instead of removing it." Exactly. Hiring an industry insider (he actually also used to work for Cornell) to a political position is the exact opposite of removing politics from your prisons. Though Joe Ponte is about as inoffensive as a CCA warden gets, he's still a company man and his hiring raises serious questions as to the future of the Maine prison system.