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In the midst of growing accusations of civil rights abuses and unsafe conditions in a Cleveland prison where several inmates have died, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced this week his intention to go to court. increase state supervision of local prisons.
In recent months, the prison's problems, Cuyahoga County Penitentiary, have combined to create a crisis that has resulted in civil suits, an F.B.I. investigation and prosecution of several correctional officers.
According to this announcement, the Ohio Rehabilitation and Correction Department will begin to share more extensive inspection reports with local prosecutors and administrative judges. DeWine also plans to add staff to the department's Department of Adult Detention.
"We have increased the number of people working in our inspection department," said the governor during an interview on Saturday at the detention center. "This section just did not have enough staff when I took office," said DeWine, a Republican who took office in January. "It's a bigger problem than the simple Cuyahoga prison."
But DeWine wants to "highlight" the Cleveland Penitentiary Center. In his announcement, On Friday, DeWine said he had asked the detention bureau to conduct regular inspections of Cuyahoga County Prison at least every 30 days. Ohio's prisons are inspected annually to see if they meet the "essential" standards of the state.
"Although we have neither power nor authority to manage the prison and we do not want to manage it, keeping the spotlight in the spotlight with these frequent inspections, we hope this will bring about a permanent change in culture," A said DeWine Saturday.
Officials from Cuyahoga County could not be reached for comment.
The prison was re-examined this week after Cuyahoga County released a shocking surveillance video to The Plain Dealer that showed that two correctional officers repeatedly beat an attached detainee. to a chair. The Plain Dealer, which covers northeastern Ohio, identified the agents as Timothy M. Dugan and Cpl. Nicholas D. Evans and the inmate under the name Terrance Debose.
In the video, Mr. Debose is brought into a room with his arms tied to his chair, a blanket on his lap, and a blanket over his mouth. Mr. Debose can be seen addressing Corporal Evans.
Corporal Evans then leans over and begins to swing several times in front of Mr. Debose's face. Constable Dugan also walks up and hits Mr. Debose in the face.
Both men face charges of criminal badault, unlawful restraint and violation of civil rights. according to the Office of the Attorney General of Ohio. The court records show that both officers pleaded not guilty in April.
Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for United Auto Workers Region 2B, a union representing corporals working in the prison, declined to comment on "outstanding legal issues".
Adam Chaloupka, an attorney with Constable Dugan, said he planned to take the case to court in July.
"The video is what it is: it's proof," said Saturday Chaloupka, a member of the Ohio Patrollers Volunteer Association. "We can not run video; it does not mean that there is enough evidence, "he said, adding that the prosecution had to prove that the badault was a criminal badault, as opposed to a simple badault.
"They have to prove that they suffered serious physical damage," Chaloupka said, adding that Dugan had a clean criminal record in the 19 years he worked at the prison.
The problems in the jail have been going on for a long time, said David B. Malik, a civil rights lawyer for a former prison inmate who is suing Cuyahoga County.
"Effective policies have been put in place, and prisoners and detainees have been more or less well protected from harm," Malik said. "The problem starts to change when new political administrations take office and the policies that have been implemented are no longer," he said.
Mr. DeWine stated that he considered the behavior of correctional officers to be "unacceptable".
"It goes back to training and discipline, and there should be no tolerance for this type of behavior," DeWine said.
This week's developments continue months of disturbing news about Cuyahoga County Prison. In October, a A judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court said he would release people accused of low-level crimes instead of sending them to jail for bail, citing security concerns.
"Six deaths mean that the prison is dangerous," said Judge Michael L. Nelson Sr. at the time. "You should not die before you go to court."
A study of Cuyahoga County Prisons for the United States Marshal Service, published in November, raised questions about the deaths of several detainees and revealed that detainees were not receiving enough food and were being held in cells exceeding much of their abilities (a cell designed for two people). people, for example, held 12). Some federal inmates are being held in the prison, according to the report.
An inspection by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction published in February revealed that the prison had not met the standards of 84 states. According to the state report, the detainees were reportedly denied hygiene products, clean sheets and hours of visitation.
The state again inspected the prison this month and found that it still did not meet 66 standards. A statement from DeWine's office released on Thursday said "additional lawsuits could be filed if this prison did not show any significant improvements".
"My goal is to make sure we stay on track and keep up the pressure on Cuyahoga County and make the jail healthier," said DeWine.
David Dustin, Special Supervisory Officer, F.B.I. in Cleveland, confirmed Friday that the F.B.I. investigated possible civil rights violations at the prison, but he declined to provide additional details, citing the ongoing investigation.
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