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PublishedJanuary 6, 2025
Riverview patient sentenced on child porn charge in Augusta
Paul Orchard, 43, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of sexually explicit video of a child under 12 years old. In 2014 he was found not criminally responsible for sexually assaulting and killing his mother-in-law in front of his 6-year-old daughter in Peru.
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PublishedNovember 24, 2024
Owners of Maine’s ‘last resort’ psychiatric hospital in South Carolina declare bankruptcy
Maine has signed another $1.4 million contract with Columbia Regional Care Center to reserve six beds. But the facility will soon be sold at auction after its parent company declared bankruptcy.
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PublishedOctober 30, 2024
Court oversight of Maine’s mental health services ending after 3 decades
A 1990 consent decree settled a class action lawsuit brought by patients at the former Augusta Mental Health Institute and has served as a legal guidepost for how the state provides care to adults with mental illness.
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PublishedOctober 16, 2024
Staff safety at Maine’s 2 psychiatric centers back in spotlight
Two lawmakers have requested a full-scale review of safety and staffing concerns at Riverview in Augusta and Dorothea Dix in Bangor, which house patients with severe mental health issues.
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PublishedAugust 10, 2024
Maine is still sending psych patients to controversial South Carolina hospital despite complaints
Justin Butterfield, 35, was committed to a state psychiatric hospital after killing his brother during a mental health crisis. His family is worried about him after he was transferred to a private hospital in South Carolina that has been likened to a prison.
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PublishedJune 23, 2024
A judge committed these Maine patients to a hospital. Some say they’re being sent to prison.
Maine has been quietly sending people found not criminally responsible for their crimes to a controversial, for-profit facility in South Carolina where they say they are not getting mental health treatment.
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PublishedMarch 18, 2024
Maine wants to keep housing some criminal defendants with mental illness in prison
Maine State Prison is better equipped than psychiatric hospitals to help certain defendants who have been ruled incompetent to stand trial, the Department of Corrections and DHHS say.
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PublishedJanuary 13, 2023
Man who stabbed Turner couple to death in 2021 granted supervised time in Augusta
Patrick Maher was found not criminally responsible for stabbing Troy and Dulsie Varney to death in 2021.
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PublishedJuly 15, 2022
Killer’s spiritual beliefs a factor as authorities weigh request for increased privileges
Enoch Petrucelly, who was found not criminally responsible for stabbing his brother to death in 2008 and committed to the custody of the state, is seeking increased autonomy.
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PublishedFebruary 2, 2022
Committee backs pay raises for state psychiatric hospital workers
The Health and Human Services Committee voted 8-4 along party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.
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