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Photocopies Required for Court Access

Article • August 15, 1996 • from PLN August, 1996

Filed under: Court Access, Photocopies, Costs

Photocopies Required for Court Access by A federal district court in Ohio held that a prison policy which charges prisoners 35 cents per copy and does not allow a credit system violates prisoners' right of access to the courts. Scott Giles, an Ohio state prisoner, filed suit challenging the Ohio …

Jury Power in Action

Article • May 15, 1996 • from PLN May, 1996

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Juries

Jury Power in Action by A single mother in Cleveland, Ohio went on trial for welfare fraud. She was charged with "stealing" $11,000 in cash and food stamps over a two-year period. Between June 1988 to January 1990 she is accused of working at a $6,000-a-year part time job emptying …

Exploitation of Ohio Prison Labor

Article • April 15, 1996 • from PLN April, 1996

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Exploitation of Ohio Prison Labor by William Ridenour Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) in recent years has stepped up their campaign to entice local industry into using Ohio's cheap prison labor force to manufacture their products. Their efforts have been met with considerable success. A number of Ohio companies have voiced …

$460,800 Verdict in Ohio Beating Affirmed

Article • April 15, 1996 • from PLN April, 1996

Filed under: Escapes, Attorney Fee Awards, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages, Costs, Witnesses

$460,800 Verdict in Ohio Beating Affirmed by A district court in Ohio denied prison officials' motion for a new trial and affirmed a jury verdict of $460,800 to two Ohio state prisoners who had been beaten by prisoner guards. In the January, 1995, issue of PLN we reported the jury …

US Supreme Court Grants Review in Forfeiture Cases

Article • March 15, 1996 • from PLN March, 1996

Filed under: Money/Property, Forfeiture

US Supreme Court Grants Review in Forfeiture Cases by On January 12, 1996, the US supreme court granted certiori and agreed to rule on a trilogy of forfeiture cases. The cases are: Degen v. U.S ., Case No. 95-173, which involves the question of whether a foreign property owner waives …

Ohio Update

Article • February 15, 1996 • from PLN February, 1996

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliation for Litigating, Snitch Jacketing, Lockdowns, Mail Regulations, Guards/Staff, ACA

Ohio Update by John Perotti At Mansfield Correctional Institution (MANCI) the warden, Dennis Baker, Major Mack, the Business Manager, and two guards were placed on administrative leave while the FBI and State Highway Patrol (SHP) investigated allegations they accepted gratuities and kickbacks from a prisoner, J. Crow, whom they allowed …

Direct Action in Ohio

Article • January 15, 1996 • from PLN January, 1996

Filed under: Organizing

Direct Action in Ohio by Ohio Prisoner by an Ohio Prisoner In January of 1992, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced plans to build a federal prison in Columbiana County, Ohio. They planned to take over land owned and farmed by local families for generations. Local farmers and working …

Ohio Mental Health Decree Entered

Article • December 15, 1995 • from PLN December, 1995

Filed under: Medication, Staffing, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Ohio Mental Health Decree Entered by A far reaching consent decree governing the delivery of mental health care to Ohio prisoners was entered on 10 July 1995. The consent decree resulted from a §1983 suit filed in 1993 and certified as a class action on June 7, 1995. The prisoner …

Ohio Prison Doctor Imprisoned

Article • December 15, 1995 • from PLN December, 1995

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Medical Misconduct

Ohio Prison Doctor Imprisoned by Harry Schutte was the medical director at the Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, OH when his license to practice medicine was suspended after he was arrested and convicted for forging prescriptions. Schutte, who was addicted to the drug Stadol and synthetic morphine, did not notify …

OH Visitor Search Illegal

Article • November 15, 1995 • from PLN November, 1995

Filed under: Strip Searches, Visitor Searches, Crime/Demographics, Informants

OH Visitor Search Illegal by The Franklin County Court of Appeals in Ohio has held that an anonymous letter alleging drug smuggling by a prison visitor is insufficient to constitute "reasonable suspicion" which would authorize a strip search of the visitor. Terry Morris, the warden of the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, …

Worked to Death: OH Work Release Programs

Article • October 15, 1995 • from PLN October, 1995

Filed under: Work Release, Work, Prison Industries, Work Conditions/Safety, Environmental Law

Worked to Death: OH Work Release Programs by Dan Cahill By Dan Cahill Many of us have been concerned about the possibility of abuse and tragedy in the unprotected use of prison labor. Over the past several years Ohio legislators have made it legal to market prison labor to private …

Ohio Prison Activist Conference

Article • September 15, 1995 • from PLN September, 1995

Filed under: Organizing

Ohio Prison Activist Conference by On April 29th and 30th, 1995, prison activists from around the state attended the Ohio Prison Activist Conference. The theme was "Struggling on the Outside for Those Struggling on the Inside." This conference was organized by Oberlin Action Against Prisons (OAAP) working in conjunction with …

Unprovoked Assault States Claim

Article • July 15, 1995 • from PLN July, 1995

Filed under: Threats by Staff, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Grooming Rules, Complaints

Unprovoked Assault States Claim by The sixth circuit court of appeals held that an unprovoked assault by Ohio prison guards states a claim for an eighth amendment violation. In doing so, the court rejected the prison guards' contention that unprovoked assaults do not, as a matter of law, state an …

The Last Mile

Article • June 15, 1995 • from PLN June, 1995

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

The Last Mile by Johnny "Byrd Dog" Byrd Sunday, March 13th, 1994, at 12:35 pm., exactly 35 hours and 26 minutes before my scheduled, state-sanctioned murder, the "Death Row Escort Squad" arrived at cell, saying "It's time Byrd Dog," "strip" said one. A number of men stood in front of …

Gangs in OH

Article • June 15, 1995 • from PLN June, 1995

Filed under: Gang Policies, Retaliation, Retaliation for Organizing

Gangs in OH by Reader Mail Earlier this year I found myself locked down in a series of segregation units, ultimately being placed in administrative control. I was charged (and found guilty) of an all encompassing violation that reads: "Participating in or organizing, whether individually or in concert with others, …

Ohio Activist Needs Help

Article • May 15, 1995 • from PLN May, 1995

Filed under: Retaliation for Media Contact, Organizing

Ohio Activist Needs Help by John Perotti Readers of this paper will recall my article "Spilt Milk", detailing human rights abuses at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (Luke) located in Lucasville, OH and how I was set up in retaliation for witnessing the beating of an inmate and writing about …

Attorney Fees for Monitoring Consent Decree

Article • April 15, 1995 • from PLN April, 1995

Filed under: Classification, Racial Discrimination, Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Consent Decrees

Attorney Fees for Monitoring Consent Decree by In 1992 prisoners seeking to desegregate the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) in Lucasville, Ohio, entered into a consent decree with prison officials. Under the terms of the decree the cells at SOCF would be randomly integrated. After the April, 1993, rebellion at …

Ohio Offshore Industries Project

Article • March 15, 1995 • from PLN March, 1995

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Ohio Offshore Industries Project by Dan Cahill In the state governments effort to market prisoners as cheap labor it has unveiled the Ohio Offshore Industries Project. This marketing campaign offers companies a vast pool of cheap prison labor as an attractive alternative to foreign based production. Companies have been moving …

Award for Prisoners Beaten by OH Guards

Article • January 15, 1995 • from PLN January, 1995

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Award for Prisoners Beaten by OH Guards by In April of 1993, the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) at Lucasville, Ohio, erupted in one of the longest, costliest, and most violent prisoner rebellions in recent history. The rebellion brought Lucasville to national attention, but Ohio prisoners and prisoncrats had long …

Lucasville 1994 "Spilt Milk"

Article • January 15, 1995 • from PLN January, 1995

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Lucasville 1994 "Spilt Milk" by John Perotti By John W. Perotti It's been almost two years since the 11-day siege at the southern Ohio Correctional Facility located in Lucasville, Ohio. The problem? "Spilt milk" is just the beginning. Millions of dollars have been spent on reconstruction of the prison and …