In reading about the hunger strike at the Maine State Prison in Warren, I am compelled to write out of concern about such abusive living conditions, especially for those men who are suffering from debilitating mental illnesses. I believe two questions need to be raised in the care of inmates afflicted by the ravages of mental illness.
First, who is responsible for allowing such abject deprivation under reprehensible conditions? Second, what is the outcome of forcing men to live in such adverse conditions for extended periods of time? Should we be worried about the long-term consequences on the emotional fatality imposed by a system of punishment similar to the Middle Ages?
The inhumanity of incarcerating a human being in solitary confinement for months and years, without any contact with the outside world, should send a message of urgency to the community. In a world of exploding technology, how is refusing a simple television or radio to men totally isolated from civilized sanity, going to change unruly behavior? 
Calvin E. Dube, Lewiston