Governor Mike Dewine of Ohio announced last week that he plans to increase state oversight of Cuyahoga County jail amid accusations of violence and abuse.
What We Know:
- The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction will begin widely sharing their inspection reports with local prosecutors and administrative judges as well as Dewine adding to the staff of the department’s Bureau of Adult Detention.
- “That section just did not have enough people in it when I took office,” according to Dewine. “That is a bigger issue than just Cuyahoga jail.”
- The jail, Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, has been reported to have such unsafe conditions that several inmates have died as well as regularly violated the civil rights of the inmates.
- This announcement is in the midst of the jail getting even more controversy after Cuyahoga County released an intense surveillance video of two corrections officers repeatedly punching an inmate strapped to a chair.
- The two officers have pled not guilty in April to their charges including felonious assault, unlawful restraint and interfering with civil rights, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office.
- Along with this video, a review of Cuyahoga County jail facilities done by the United States Marshals Service in November showed that inmates were not getting enough food and were held in cells far exceeding capacity.
- Dewine has requested that the detention bureau conduct inspections of Cuyahoga County at least every 30 days.
- “…By keeping the spotlight on the jail with these frequent inspections, we are hopeful it will lead to a permanent change in the culture,” Mr. DeWine stated Saturday.
There needs to be immediate reconstruction in this facility.
