The Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Correction has announced that it will be moving its death row inmates from Chillicothe to Toledo. OCSEA union leaders spoke out about the move to state and national press, with concerns that yet another rash DR&C decision––without union or community input––could have a serious impact.
DR&C says it’s going to add 18 positions at the Toledo Correctional Institution; but what it didn’t mention is that TOCI is already understaffed by nearly 20 positions. This move would nearly double the number of positions needed to maintain these high-risk prisoners. This would only add to a serious and concerning shortage at TOCI, says OCSEA Corrections Assembly President Shawn Gruber.
This isn’t the first time DR&C has looked before it leaps in most recent years. From their rash decisions to close state prison farms to the privatization of prison food service, DR&C continues to make decisions in a vacuum; with little consideration of the impact its decisions have on communities or employees.
President Chris Mabe told the Associated Press (as it appeared in the New York Times) that the move would once again disrupt the consistency of staff, the inmates and their families. “You keep shuffling all these guys around in the system, and it just puts more hardships on everyone,” Mabe told the press. Read the NYT article.
More news:
Ohio death row inmates moving to Toledo prison - Toledo Blade
Citing Aging Inmates, Ohio Says It Will Again Move Death Row - ABC News
Death row moving from Chillicothe to Toledo - Chillicother Gazette