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by Gina Hamilton
Coastal Journal staff
 WARREN -- Marty Magnusson, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, announced the selection of the next warden of the Maine State Prison last Wednesday. Patricia M. Barnhart, acting warden of the Thumb Correctional Facility, Michigan Department of Corrections, has accepted the position of warden for the Maine State Prison. She is replacing Warden Jeff Merrill who is taking a position to lead the department's energy conservation efforts.
“Patty Barnhart has more than 20 years of experience in corrections including her current responsibilities as acting warden of the Thumb Correctional Facility,” said Magnusson. “She will bring experienced and progressive leadership to the Maine State Prison.”
As acting warden, Barnhart is responsible for the direction, management and oversight of a 1,216 bed prison for adult males and youthful offenders for the State of Michigan Department of Corrections. The Thumb Correctional Facility is located in Lapeer, Michigan. Barnhart had served as deputy warden of the facility for two years before being named as acting warden. Her career in corrections also includes management of probation and parole and serving as a parole officer and a corrections officer.
“Barnhart has a strong commitment to prisoner programming and reentry,” according to Magnusson. “She is recognized in Michigan for her leadership abilities and commitment to positive change.” Barnhart will assume her new responsibilities during the first part of December.
The Maine State Prison has been plagued with problems, many stemming from financial cuts at the prison. In late July, prison officials told lawmakers that budget cuts are causing serious morale and staffing problems at the Maine State Prison and could worsen if state funding to corrections programs takes additional hits. The Prison moved from an eight hour workday to a 12 hour workday, and while this saved money in overtime, it made things difficult for staff members.
High profile incidents at the Prison, including the slaying of sex offender inmate Sheldon Weinstein, have cast conditions at the Prison into sharp focus. In the wake of Weinstein's slaying, civil liberties groups also have called on the federal Department of Justice to look into the treatment of inmates and other conditions at the prison, which also has been the site of a recent hunger strike and stabbing.
But violence at the Prison isn’t new. In June and July of 2008, the Prison experienced a hostage situation, as a knife-wielding inmate took two hostages. Both were released with ‘minimal or no injury’.
In June of this year, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) released a scathing report, concluding that “Despite several Department efforts focused on cultural change since 2005, the following elements are still likely present to some degree within the culture at Maine State Prison.” These elements included :
• Intimidation of, and retaliation against, individuals attempting to raise concerns – or behaviors that staff perceive as intimidation or retaliation.
• Behaviors that staff or prisoners experience or perceive as harassment and discrimination of various forms.
• A distrust and/or lack of respect for management as a whole, or of certain individuals within the chain of command, that appears to be fed, at least in part, by staff perceptions that a strong “good old boy” network exists.
• Reluctance or actual failure to report situations that are personally concerning to staff, appear unethical, or that otherwise expose the State to unnecessary risks and liabilities. OPEGA also observed potential weaknesses in both formal and informal reporting avenues that may affect staff’s willingness to use them, or that may interfere with those concerns getting proper attention and action at the appropriate supervisory level.
In August, Warden Merrill was summarily removed from his post and reassigned to the energy conservation project, at a 42% pay cut. During the search, Commissioner Magnusson served as Warden.
Associate Corrections Commissioner Denise Lord said there were no acute problems that prompted Merrill's change in duties, which, she said, Merrill and Magnusson had been discussing for some time. However, she acknowledged persistent challenges at the prison.
"There have been issues at the Maine State Prison over the past several years," she said. "It's a very difficult facility, and it's also our most costly facility."
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