MACHIASPORT, Maine — It has been more than four years since the Downeast Correctional Facility has been in operation.
On Friday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the new facility opening on the same land as the original building in Machiasport.
Gov. Janet Mills was joined by Randall Liberty, commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, for the ceremony.
"We're here today to right a wrong, a terrible wrong that occurred four years ago," Mills said.
The original facility shut down in 2018 under the direction of former Gov. Paul LePage. LePage had said it was a waste of state funds to keep the facility in operation.
Mills said it has been her mission since she took office to rebuild and reopen the facility that had been torn down.
The new facility employs 15 workers and can house up to 48 residents. As a pre-release center, it allows residents living there to work in the community.
"The businesses here are very supportive and very eager to work with these residents," Liberty said.
Liberty said there are two other similar facilities in Maine: the Bolduc Correctional Facility in Warren and the Maine Correctional Women's Center in Windham. He said it was important to bring this facility back to the Down East region so that many folks could be moved to a place that is closer to home for them.
John Moholind is someone who can relate to the importance of living closer to home. As a resident of Princeton, being able to transfer from Bolduc to this new facility means he'll be able to see his two sons more often.
"It means everything. As soon as they start visits, I'll have a visit with them every weekend," Moholind said.
Several of the residents said they're looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunities the facility has to offer.
"I'm hoping to get back in college and find a job in the community that I can keep working when I get out," Carlos Tabor, a resident of the facility, said.
"I work in the kitchen, and we prepared all the food down here, and it was all Maine locally grown and sourced," Jason Thorpe, a resident of the facility, said.
Thorpe said it's important for people to realize these types of facilities are created to help residents get back on track and prepare for their eventual re-entry into society.
"Everybody wants to lock people up when they commit a crime and then forget that we have to get back out and rebuild our lives and get back on our feet, and the more help that we can get with that the better off we all are," Thorpe said.