As Maine State Department of Corrections Commissioner, Randall Liberty (’11) manages all correctional facilities in the state, overseeing a total of 2,400 inmates, 1,120 staff members, and 6,000 probationers. But it’s not the everyday management details that matter the most to him. Much of his focus is on finding ways to empower inmates so they can feel like they have something positive to contribute to society.
“I believe in rehabilitation and redemption,” Liberty said. “About 95 percent of these men will be released back into the community at some point, and the question is whether they are better citizens, better fathers, and better sons than when they arrived. If the answer is ‘yes,’ then I’ve done my job.”
He strives to make sure that the inmates wake up each day with a purpose. For that reason, he implemented numerous wellness programs that promote productivity and a strong work ethic. A master gardener himself, Liberty has been able to share his passion for gardening by creating a number of vegetable gardens at Maine State Prison where inmates learn gardening skills while supplying food for the prison. Last year, inmates helped to grow and harvest 12,000 pounds of produce and are on track to harvest another 25,000 pounds of food this year.
Liberty said programs like this have drastically changed the atmosphere of the prison.
“The inmates feel good about what they are doing,” he said. “For some of them, it’s the first time they ever thought they could be successful at something.”
Twenty-five inmates are now certified as master gardeners.
For the past few years, the prison has also partnered with a number of local greenhouses by taking discarded seedlings that would otherwise be composted and giving them new life in the prison garden. Last year, the prison grew 3,000 tomato plants and 2,500 pepper plants from seedlings. Composting has also been a big part of the prison program. To date, the Maine State Prison has composted 600,000 pounds of organics, saving $100,000 in disposal costs.
Liberty earned his master’s degree in leadership management through Liberty University’s online program in 2011 and said the degree helped motivate him to create unique programs that bring about change in the inmates.
“This degree made me a better writer, a much more critical thinker, and it prepared me with the marketing and business aspect of the operation,” he said. “I felt it improved me spiritually, getting my nose into the Book (the Bible). It made me feel as though there was a higher purpose for me other than administering a department of corrections.”
Liberty has led a career dedicated to service. In the last 30 years, he has served as command sergeant major in the U.S. Army and as Kennebec County (Maine) Sheriff.
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