The bill, sponsored by Blue Hill Democrat James Schatz, is also drawing support from Maine's religious leaders.

Civil libertarians and religious groups are lining up today in support of a bill that would limit the amount of time prisoners in Maine can be put in solitary confinement. LD 1611, sponsored by Rep. James Schatz, a Blue Hill Democrat, would also prevent authorities from placing prisoners with "serious mental illness" in solitary confinement.

The measure has the support of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, as well as the Maine Council of Churches. The Maine Psychological Association and the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians are also supporting the measure. The groups are outlining their reasons at an Augusta news conference this morning.

"Everyone, even those in prison, deserves to be treated like a human being," says MCLU Executive Director Shenna Bellows in a statement. "Solitary confinement is torture."

State corrections officials have expressed concerns about the bill. Maine Associate Corrections Commissioner Denise Lord told MPBN that the practice of placing prisoners in solitary confinement is "widely accepted" and that prisoners are sometimes segregated because they pose a danger to themselves or others.