|
|
| Ohio Gov. Considers Closing Another Prison |
| By Cleveland Plain Dealer |
| Published: 01/27/2003 |
|
Gov. Bob Taft is expected to propose closing another prison in a particularly dire State of the State address he delivers next week. Deeper cuts to the state's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction are likely, said Taft spokeswoman Mary Anne Sharkey, and they could include the second closing of a state prison since April. Neither she nor state prisons Director Reggie Wilkinson would say what facility, if any, might be shuttered. The state closed the Orient Correctional Institution near Columbus during earlier budget cuts. The corrections department subsequently closed housing units at four prisons in hopes of avoiding shutting down another facility. This time around, Wilkinson said, the department is evaluating each prison's budget, the costs to operate it, the security levels of inmates and the buildings' physical conditions. But Wilkinson said that if budget cuts are as deep as he anticipates, it will be difficult to avoid closing an additional prison - though other options are being considered first. Wilkinson said one option that is not being entertained is an early release of prisoners to cut costs. That is an approach that budget-strapped states have considered since Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton began releasing hundreds of state prisoners last month. Still, an Ohio Supreme Court ruling last month might coincidentally do just that. In a 6-1 ruling in the cases of three Ohio inmates, the court hammered the Ohio Parole Board for evaluating inmates based on the charges on which they were indicted rather than on their offenses of conviction. That is, if a defendant was indicted for aggravated murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, the board historically has treated the case as an aggravated murder when calculating eligibility for parole. Charles Clovis, an assistant state public defender who has filed a class-action suit against the board on that issue, said the court ruling should dovetail with the possible closing of a state prison. 'I believe that many inmates will receive parole as a result of the . . . decision,' he said. 'If another prison is closed, there would likely be less of a need for those beds.' Wilkinson said he does not view the court decision and the state's budget-cutting efforts as related. 'I would never ask the Parole Board to release people early just because of a budget situation,' he said. Clovis said he and state lawyers have begun settlement talks that could affect thousands of inmates who received indefinite sentences before Ohio's 1996 'truth in sentencing' law took effect. He said he has been told that a preliminary review of parole records showed that 'close to 5,000' prisoners will require new parole hearings or an adjustment of their next parole-hearing date because of the court's decision. Wilkinson would not confirm that number, saying the department is still reviewing records to determine how many prisoners had their parole eligibility misclassified by the Parole Board. 'Even when we have a number, that number doesn't necessarily translate into persons who are going home,' Wilkinson said. 'But we're certainly not saying that nobody's going home because of the . . . decision.' |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think