Prisoner voting activist holds two hostage

An inmate rallying for change inside the Maine State Prison in Warren took two other inmates hostage today inside the facility.

There’s another political connection in this case as well – this time dating back to what landed Chasse in prison in the first place. The then-24-year-old Michael Chasse had burglarized the home of Robert Cohen, brother of former Senator and Defense Secretary William Cohen. During his trial he escaped, stabbing two officers in the process.

Michael Chasse, now serving 40 years, spoke with PolitickerME.com and other members of the Maine media May 21 during a voter registration drive inside the prison.

Then he said he was leading an effort to register 150 inmates to vote so they can petition for improvements in the Department of Corrections and bring back parole in the state.

At 2:30 p.m. a spokesman for Gov. John Baldacci sent out an e-mail advising the press of a “very serious” hostage situation at the prison. DOC officials, the Maine State Police and hostage negotiators were dispatched.

At 10 p.m Denise Lord, associate commissioner of the department, sent out an e-mail saying the situation was over, identifying Chasse as the hostage-taker, and noting that the two hostages had minimal or no injury. She included this quote from Baldacci:

"I'm thankful that the crisis has ended without loss of life," Baldacci said. "The Department of Corrections and State Police should be commended for their handling of a very dangerous situation."

Lord did not respond to an e-mail inquiring if Chasse’s actions were connected to his political activity in the prison.

Chasse also spoke out to the Portland Phoenix about practices inside the prison. Reporter Lance Tapley writes:

“Chasse is a classic jailhouse lawyer, able to reel off detailed legal citations from memory. He believes many placements in the SMU [special management unit] are illegal because they are based on rumors of what a prisoner might do. ‘This place runs on confidential information,’ he says, but he believes court decisions require ‘an independent assessment’ of the credibility of an informer.