The Maine State Police launched its new Cold Case Deck of Cards program on Wednesday, which will distribute cards featuring cold-case murder victims to prison inmates in an attempt to generate new leads.
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“Cold case playing cards are one of many tools that may assist investigators in their ongoing efforts to solve Maine’s unsolved cases. These cards will help keep victims’ stories alive, and we hope they generate information that leads to prosecution,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty.
The program will release a 52-card deck, with each card displaying the name and face of a victim of an unsolved homicide or someone who went missing under suspicious circumstances.
The decks of playing cards will be distributed to prison inmates, who, police believe, may have knowledge related to the cold cases that could lead to their finally being solved.
According to the police, similar programs have been implemented in over two dozen states and have provided essential information in homicide cases.
Season of Justice, a nonprofit that financially supports cold case investigations, provided a grant to fund the playing card program in Maine.
After receiving the funds, the Major Crimes Unit–Unsolved selected 52 cases from the 69 unsolved homicides and 38 suspicious missing persons cases in their files, including cases going back decades.
Police selected cases based on “investigative necessity” and how likely the cards would be to generate public assistance for any given case.
Additional cards will be created in the future depicting other cold cases.
Priority Marketing in Fort Myers, Florida, worked with the police to design the cards.
“Our goal is to introduce these cards to the inmate population with the hope that they will produce actionable information leading to arrests and help bring missing people home to their families,” said Detective Corporal Michael Chavez.
