AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he'll comply with a court order by adding a "minimal" number of staffers and inmates to a state prison he shuttered without legislative approval.
LePage said Monday that the Maine Department of Corrections plans to take such steps by the week's end. The governor said he met with Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick, who plans to continue plans to close the facility when its funding expires in June.
But a lawyer for laid-off prison workers says the governor's plans are too vague. Attorney David Webbert says he expects to be back in court soon to demand the governor fully comply with the court order.
Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy ruled that LePage didn't have authority to shutter the prison, but she stopped short of ordering all of the inmates to be returned.