jails
U.S. government failed to properly count deaths of people in prisons and jails, Senate report says
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice did not properly count nearly 1,000 deaths of incarcerated people in jails and prisons, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday by a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. The 10-month investigation by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, found that DOJ […]
Congressional panel debates federal role in preventing youth incarceration
WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Labor Committee panel on Thursday questioned experts and leaders of youth rehabilitation programs about how the federal government could invest in programs to prevent kids from becoming incarcerated. “Although the juvenile justice system is intended to rehabilitate—not punish—young offenders, data shows that the more a young […]
Coronavirus death toll surpasses 100 in Ohio prisons
More than 100 inmates and workers in Ohio’s prison system have died from COVID-19, state data shows. Five prison workers (three corrections officers and two nurses) and 96 inmates have died from the disease that has clobbered the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction since late March when it was first detected in the system. […]
A judge denied him early release. Now there’s an outbreak in his prison
Storm Harrington didn’t produce any evidence of a “specific nexus between himself and COVID-19,” wrote Judge Kevin Braig on May 4, denying the 30-year-old’s request for judicial release. At the time, there were no reported cases among inmates at Madison Correctional Institution, though three guards were sick with the disease caused by the new coronavirus. […]
Ohio prisons chief walks back claim that 96% of prison COVID-19 cases were asymptomatic
The state prisons chief Tuesday walked back an apocryphal claim she has repeated that 96% of the thousands of COVID-19 cases at two prisons came from asymptomatic inmates. While the data are fluid on such a new disease, the CDC’s “best estimate” for modelers and public health officials is that about 35% of COVID-19 infections […]
Ohio prisons chief says inmates getting ‘excellent’ health care; 63 dead, thousands infected
Ohio has decreased its prison population by less than 4% while some institutions have been virtually overrun by COVID-19. Four prison workers and 63 inmates have died since prison officials first detected the new coronavirus March 29. More than 4,500 inmates have tested positive, though officials believe this to be a massive undercount since they […]
31 dead, thousands infected in Ohio prisons; counts climb at five facilities
The outbreaks in Ohio’s prisons worsened Wednesday as COVID-19 illnesses turned to deaths in two facilities and a newer outbreak snowballed in another. Two prison workers and 29 inmates have died since officials detected the new coronavirus that causes the disease in the prison system March 29. A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation […]
Video shows crowded prison; inmates and families warn social distancing not possible
As Ohio’s government orders businesses closed and residents inside for their own safety, state prisons facing spiraling outbreaks remain crowded and cramped, videos and interviews show. At Marion Correctional Institution, which houses 2,500 inmates but was built for about 1,650, 55 prison employees have tested positive for the virus as of Sunday, one of whom […]
Ohio correctional officer dies from coronavirus; 19 prisoners and 53 staff test positive
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday a correctional officer died of COVID-19 as more employees and inmates test positive for the disease. John Dawson, 55, an officer at Marion Correctional Institution since 1996, died due to the disease caused by the new coronavirus. DeWine said Dawson worked at the control center handing out equipment to staff […]
‘We’re not essential, we’re sacrificial.’ Prisoners and prison workers frightened as outbreak worsens
In the Toledo Correctional Institution, Rufus Bowman keeps his two rescue inhalers and hand sanitizer close. He has severe, chronic asthma, leaving him especially vulnerable to COVID-19. As the new coronavirus that causes the disease continues its steady penetration of Ohio’s prisons, Bowman’s wife is terrified. “This is a death sentence to these people,” said […]
Decarceration goals can and should be Ohio’s new normal
The United States has the largest incarceration rate in the world. If the average daily population of those held behind bars in the United States were a city, it would have a larger population than Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton combined. While mass incarceration has always had devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities, it […]