Susan Cover has been a journalist for 24 years, working at newspapers in Kansas, Rhode Island, Ohio and Maine. In 2002, Susan moved to Maine to cover state government and spent 10 years in the Statehouse Bureau working for the Kennebec Journal. She covered state budgets, hundreds of bills, and referenda campaigns including bear baiting and marriage equality.
In 2013, Susan was promoted to city editor at the Kennebec Journal, leading a team of reporters and photographers to put out each day’s paper. Susan is a graduate of Muskingum University in Ohio and has a master’s degree in newspaper journalism from Syracuse University.
Most recently, Susan left daily newspaper journalism to pursue freelance writing and her other passion – taking run-down houses in Kennebec County and bringing them back to life. She lives in Augusta with her partner and their pets – Piper the cat and Wooley the dog.
While Maine continues to grapple with reforms to its criminal justice system, other states have moved forward with measures designed to end or relax mandatory minimum sentences, restrict the use of solitary confinement and reform the bail code.
Advocates say the Democratic-led legislature has created an unparalleled appetite for change in Maine’s criminal justice system, but a partisan standoff over returning to session amid the coronavirus pandemic may delay reforms for months.
While the state’s public defense agency continues to study the scope of the breach by three county jails, the ACLU of Maine does not have plans to take legal or legislative action.
The state's social-distancing requirements and a decision on notarizations by Gov. Janet Mills have made it increasingly difficult for independent Senate candidates to qualify for the Maine ballot.
More than 9,000 people are incarcerated in Maine jails every year for one simple reason: They didn’t show up for their court date. Advocates say a text message system that would send court date reminders to defendants' cell phones could help reduce that number. Others say a paper reminder should be enough.