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Work Strike Suppressed and Sabotaged in Ohio

Article • May 15, 1998 • from PLN May, 1998

Filed under: Organizing, Work Strikes, Parole

Work Strike Suppressed and Sabotaged in Ohio by Daniel Burton-Rose The October 16th, 1997, issue of the Cleveland black community newspaper The Call and Post printed a letter announcing a statewide work strike by Ohio prisoners on November 1st. The letter was signed by Prisoners United For Equal Justice. The …

CURE-Ohio and the Aftermath

Article • May 15, 1998 • from PLN May, 1998

Filed under: Organizing

CURE-Ohio and the Aftermath by [Editor's Note: The following information reaches PLN by mail from an Ohio reader whose name and initials we are withholding at our discretion.] The situation with CURE-Ohio is getting worse! CURE has formed a "coalition" of outside support groups, and is dictating policy to them. …

In Memory - Reverends Ernest Bromley and Maurice McCrackin

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Eulogies

In Memory - Reverends Ernest Bromley and Maurice McCrackin by John Perotti On December 18, 1997, Reverend Ernest Bromley passed away. Less than two weeks later, on December 30, 1997, Bromley's partner, comrade, and Brother, Reverend Maurice McKrackin ("Rev Mac" to all) followed him. Both had a long painful fight …

Ohio Death Row Uprising

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Prisoner Property, Death Row

Ohio Death Row Uprising by In the November '97 PLN , we reported "Tensions Rise in Ohio Prisons." Our coverage of the September 5, 1997 uprising on Ohio's death row at the Mansfield Correctional Institution (MANCI) was based entirely on published press reports, and as such was woefully inadequate. PLN …

Ohio Students Rally in DC

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Organizing

Ohio Students Rally in DC by Students from Dayton Ohio's Colonel White High School were outraged when they read about Kemba Smith in Emerge magazine. Smith, a 24-year-old Virginia woman, was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole for refusing to cooperate with federal prosecutors …

More Ohio Jail Construction Corruption

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Government Misconduct

More Ohio Jail Construction Corruption by In the April '97 issue of PLN we reported "Ohio Jail Construction Corruption?" about questionable contract provisions and cost overruns by a construction firm owned by Ohio governor George Voinovich's brother. That article was about the firm's $9 million renovation of the Franklin county …

Americans with Disability Act Applies to Jails

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Injury -- Misc., Conditions of Confinement, Showers, Jail Specific, Magistrates, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

Americans with Disability Act Applies to Jails by In two separate rulings, federal district courts in Ohio and Michigan held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 42 U.S.C. § 12131 and the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794, apply to county jails. Leonard Raufman was imprisoned in the …

Ohio Overtime Gravy

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Staffing, Guard Unions

Ohio Overtime Gravy by According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, overtime pay for Ohio state employees is expected to reach an all-time high of $72 million in 1997. Among the 68 Ohio state agencies, employees of the state's burgeoning prison system account for $23.7 million, about a third …

Former Prison Security Chief Convicted

Article • November 15, 1997 • from PLN November, 1997

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Former Prison Security Chief Convicted by Julia Lutsky By Julia Lutsky William T. Mack, 53, was convicted at the end of May in a continuing federal investigation of corruption at the Mansfield Correctional Institute (MANCI) in Ohio. Mack, who had been chief of security at MANCI prior to his transfer …

Ohio Prison Doctor Liable in Asthma Death

Article • November 15, 1997 • from PLN November, 1997

Filed under: Work Conditions/Safety, Respiratory, Medical Records, Civil Procedure, Parties, Expert Witnesses, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Ohio Prison Doctor Liable in Asthma Death by A federal district court in Ohio held that factual disputes required a trial to determine if Ohio DOC medical staff were liable in the death of a prisoner who died from an asthma attack. Ernest Davis was an Ohio state prisoner with …

Tensions Rise in Ohio Prisons

Article • November 15, 1997 • from PLN November, 1997

Filed under: Eulogies, Prison Rebellion, Prison/Common Area Searches, Drug Testing, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Row

Tensions Rise in Ohio Prisons by A PLN subscriber wrote to describe a "mini riot" which occurred June 3, 1997, in one of the dorms at the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, OH. He reported that six prisoners and two guards were injured. The disturbance "was brought on by …

A Day at the Human Zoo

Article • October 15, 1997 • from PLN October, 1997

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Conditions of Confinement, Prison Tourism/Consumerism

A Day at the Human Zoo by Alice Lynd My husband and I toured the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, a new "private prison" that is soon to open in Youngstown. Near the entrance there is a bulletin board with the words, "Yesterday's Closing Stock Price," a reminder that the Corrections …

CCA Prison Off to a Rocky Start

Article • October 15, 1997 • from PLN October, 1997

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Protect (General), Lockdowns, Guards/Staff, Assaults on Staff

CCA Prison Off to a Rocky Start by In its first five weeks of operation, the CCA-owned and operated Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NOCC) in Youngstown was locked down three times. According to warden Willis Gibson, the first lockdown occurred on May 30 after 50 Washington D.C. prisoners, apparently unhappy …

Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Not Retroactive

Article • July 15, 1997 • from PLN July, 1997

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Not Retroactive by The court of appeals for the sixth circuit held that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), which requires prisoners to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit in federal court do not apply to cases pending on April 24, 1996, when the PLRA was signed into law, …

6th Circuit Upholds PLRA IFP Provisions

Article • July 15, 1997 • from PLN July, 1997

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

6th Circuit Upholds PLRA IFP Provisions by The court of appeals for the sixth circuit rejected the first extensive constitutional challenge made to the In Forma Pauperis (IFP) provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The PLRA changes to 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the IFP statute, were detailed in …

Lucasville Uprising: $4.1 Million Settlement

Article • July 15, 1997 • from PLN July, 1997

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Attorney Fee Awards, Damages, Settlements, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Protect (Staff)

Lucasville Uprising: $4.1 Million Settlement by In January, 1997, a settlement was filed in federal court in the three-year-old class action based on injuries stemming from the 1993 Easter Day uprising and 11-day siege at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) at Lucasville, OH. The settlement establishes a $4.1 million …

PLRA Confuses Courts; Applies Only to Prisoners

Article • May 15, 1997 • from PLN May, 1997

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Appeals

PLRA Confuses Courts; Applies Only to Prisoners by To illustrate how poorly written the PLRA is, the court of appeals for the sixth circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915 still "allows individuals who are not prisoners to litigate a case without the prepayment of filing fees." In their haste …

Ohio Jail Construction Corruption?

Article • April 15, 1997 • from PLN April, 1997

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Government Misconduct

Ohio Jail Construction Corruption? by Questions arise as to whether a contract for the Franklin County jail renovation was legal. The county commissioners awarded the unbid contract in May 1995 to Voinovich-Sgro Architects, Inc., a subsidiary of the Voinovich Group, owned by Paul Voinovich, the brother to Governor George Voinovich. …

Ohio "Eases" Prison Overcrowding

Article • November 15, 1996 • from PLN November, 1996

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Ohio "Eases" Prison Overcrowding by On June 30, 1996, Ohio had the second- or third-most overcrowded prison system in the country with prisoners packed in at 170.1 percent of capacity. At the stroke of midnight, however, like magic, that figure dropped to 138.3 percent, placing the state eighth or ninth …

Supreme Court Closes Double Jeopardy Door

Article • September 15, 1996 • from PLN September, 1996

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Double jeopardy (Hearings), Forfeiture

Supreme Court Closes Double Jeopardy Door by Jeffrey Steinborn "Counsel, are you trying to show contempt for this court?" "No, your honor, I'm doing my best to conceal it." -- Attributed to Clarence Darrow in the Scopes "Monkey Trial" He had a point. Some days it's tough to conceal it. …