Trial and Error

Apr 7, 2010

Don Dechaine says he isn’t sure what caused the well-known prisoner’s heart rate and blood pressure to drop on Monday.

PORTLAND — A brother of Dennis Dechaine said Thursday that the well-known prisoner continues to recover at Maine Medical Center, after being found near death Monday morning in his cell at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

Don Dechaine of Madawaska said he intends to visit his brother at Maine Med today. He will be the first family member to see Dennis Dechaine since the emergency.

Don Dechaine said he doesn’t know what caused his brother’s heart rate and blood pressure to plummet.

“We have no idea what happened,” he said Thursday. “He has been pretty healthy. The good news is that he is getting better. He knows where he is, he knows who he is.”

Dennis Dechaine is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry in Bowdoin in 1988. He maintains that he is innocent. A judge is expected to hear arguments later this year in his most recent bid for a new trial, based on DNA evidence.

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By Trevor Maxwell 
Staff Writer