Recently, the Maine Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a hearing on bill LD 178 to solicit testimony on reinstating parole in Maine.

Highlighted in a number of comments was the length of sentences that incarcerated people have been given as punishment. Mark Dion, a former state senator and former Cumberland County sheriff, spoke about the ways that mandatory minimum sentencing, as well as the trend in Maine to “felonize everything” such as non-violent crime, both resulted in longer sentences for convictions.

I understand this topic because I — and many others — have been directly impacted by harsh sentencing practices in Maine. These practices in criminal convictions followed by Maine’s criminal justice system must be revisited, as I believe they have been proven to be as ineffective as the overall punishment itself.

Maine’s legal system has led to a high incarceration rate of approximately 328 per 100,000 people, meaning that Maine imprisons a higher percentage of people than almost any other democracy on Earth. If we were to imagine every U.S. state as an independent nation, 24 of them would have the highest incarceration rate in the world — higher even than the United States as a whole. Paradoxically, “Maine has also been ranked as having the lowest violent crime rate in the United States, at 109 per 100,000 residents.”

One would be accurate to think that anyone found guilty of committing serious atrocities should be sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment; after all, the punishment should fit the crime. However, this may not be reflected in actual practice. Sentencing length in Maine is the result of a complicated process of negotiation involving a judge’s discretion and hopefully a competent attorney and a well-spoken defendant who can shape the direction of the case.

Yet, there are also mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines to consider that seek to address a broad range of criminal activity. This policy of following these guidelines can result in classifying many petty crimes as being comparable to and, in some cases, even worse than some of the most heinous acts of violence. Crimes like operating after suspension or revocation of license, as well as countless other vehicular-related offenses, are charges used by prosecutors to gain convictions.

Prison should be reserved for the relatively small percentage of people who are an actual threat to society.

With long sentences, the criminal justice system persistently condemns people of all ages, but especially people of color, to a life of dread and despair without reasonable justification, while at the same time often handing down lenient sentences for more serious cases.

The negative impact a lengthy prison sentence has on an individual does not stop with the person incarcerated; instead, the damage travels like a shock wave through entire families, affecting present and future generations alike. After struggling with a lengthy prison sentence, being released is much like entering an entirely new world with barriers present at every turn.

Meanwhile, private corporations that contract with the state for many services and goods greatly benefit financially from a system that forces human beings into literal cages. This is especially egregious when promoting to the public grand illusions of rehabilitation that conceal the reality of the situation.

Human decency within our criminal justice system falls to the bottom of our priority list.

The Maine Department of Corrections has recently adopted the philosophy of normalization which brings a progressive and rehabilitative focus to corrections. Honestly implementing the principles of normalization could lead to significant changes for the state. However, in order for these changes to be realized, we must also alter the path into the system from the beginning.

I truly believe the most beneficial changes that must be made are in our sentencing practices. While some progress has been made in Maine, more must be done.

Derric McLain is studying computer science at the University of Maine at Augusta and is incarcerated at Maine Correctional Center.