Key Takeaways
- Maine is pioneering a program allowing incarcerated individuals to work remote jobs for outside companies.
- The initiative began after the pandemic led to online education, allowing laptops in prison cells.
- Incarcerated workers are earning competitive salaries, with some exceeding six figures, far above typical prison labor wages.
- The program aims to reduce recidivism, enable inmates to pay restitution, taxes, and support their families.
- Concerns exist about potential exploitation if future administrations increase fees on inmate earnings, as seen in other states.
Deep Dive
- Maine's correctional system launched an experiment enabling incarcerated individuals to work remote jobs for external companies, earning fair market wages.
- Darlene George, an incarcerated individual, works full-time as a grants program coordinator from the Maine Correctional Center, earning a competitive salary.
- Maine is the first state to implement such a program, with three other states reportedly following suit.
- The shift to remote work for incarcerated individuals was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated online college classes and the use of laptops in cells.
- As of the report, 45 individuals in Maine prisons have secured remote jobs, with one earning a six-figure salary.
- Preston Thorpe, a 33-year-old serving a 20-year sentence, works remotely as a senior-level software engineer, earning a six-figure salary that doubles his supervising corrections officers' pay.
- Turso CEO Glauber Costa discovered Preston Thorpe's coding skills through GitHub, leading to his hiring despite his incarceration.
- Turso created a specific position for Preston and navigated data security compliance hurdles by noting his nine-year incarceration meant he passed a seven-year background check.
- Despite potential criticism of exploiting prison labor, Turso pays Preston market rates, and he has used his earnings to purchase a manufactured home for his post-release plans.
- Randall Liberty, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, approved remote jobs after Colby College requested an incarcerated master's student serve as an adjunct professor from prison.
- Commissioner Liberty, whose father was incarcerated and who guarded his father as a corrections officer, believes remote work should be available to any well-behaved inmate with a GED, regardless of their crime.
- The first participant, the adjunct professor, earned $27,000 and allocated funds to his church, mother's car, and nephew's college tuition.
- Public criticism argues prisons should be punitive, but Commissioner Liberty highlights inmates' potential to pay restitution, court fees, fines, child support, and taxes.
- A system distributes earned wages: 25% for victim restitution, 25% for court fees and fines, followed by child support, taxes, 10% for room and board, and 10% for a release savings account.
- Last year, inmates in remote jobs collectively earned approximately $400,000 gross income, with full-time workers making between $40,000 and over $90,000 annually, some also receiving benefits like healthcare.
- Maine's program collected $40,000 last year in room and board fees (10% of salaries), with lawmakers studying the impact of these fees.
- The report draws a comparison to Alabama, where the state takes 40% of inmate earnings, totaling $450 million annually, creating an incentive to keep prisoners working.
- Commissioner Liberty asserts Maine is not exploiting prisoners for budget balancing and envisions future opportunities for individuals without specialized skills, such as call center work, within prisons.