Pickaway is currently the only ODRC prison to have reported deaths associated with COVID-19. But as ODRC has ramped up its testing capacity, it’s now clear that both Pickaway and Marion Correctional Institution, the site of the first reported case, are swarming with the virus.
Meanwhile, Gov. Mike DeWine has made only marginal efforts to reduce the population within Ohio’s detention centers, which are already far over capacity.
The conditions are bad and getting more severe by the day, in spite of DeWine’s assurances to the contrary (see below). Sixteen of the state’s 27 prisons are on full lockdown, with more than 21,000 inmates in quarantine. In low-security facilities without individual cells, like Pickaway and Marion, “quarantine” often means that large numbers of prisoners are grouped together in a single room.
Pickaway has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday night, with 132, and 53 tests pending. Alongside Pickaway, Marion is approaching the worst infection rates in the county. Ninety-two inmates have tested positive there with 147 tests pending. Given the rate of positive tests across ODRC—272 positive, 140 negative—it’s reasonable to assume that many of the pending results will be positive as well.
At Marion, the situation is even more dire because the rate of infection among the staff is so extreme. At least 87 staffers have reported testing positive, almost as many positive tests as the inmate population. This is by far the most in Ohio.
Wednesday, Gov. DeWine was pleased to announced that Ohio’s prison system, which house nearly 50,000 individuals, had reduced its population by 311 in the previous week.
Those numbers are absolutely minuscule, fewer than 12 inmates per facility. DeWine had recommended only extremely narrow categories of prisoners for early release, including pregnant women and both elderly inmates and nonviolent inmates who were approaching the very end of their sentences. This accounted for about 160 recommendations for early release across the system.
The remaining population reduction is merely the result of fewer inmates coming into the prisons with roughly the same number going out (the criminal justice system’s constant churn and crunch.)
DeWine has repeatedly referenced his personal difficulty, even angst, in making these decisions. He said that he and his team have been weighing the safety of prison staff, the safety of prisoners themselves and the safety of the communities to which prisoners would return.
But by failing to act more aggressively and heeding the call of advocates—some of whom say that the state’s prison population would need to be cut in half to effectively halt the spread of the coronavirus—DeWine is sentencing many more Ohio prisoners to death.
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This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2020.
“…DeWine is sentencing many more Ohio prisoners to death. “
No he’s not Sam. These prisoners made a conscious decision somewhere along the way to break the law. When you do that and get caught tried and sentenced, you are no longer free to make decisions for your self. They have no one to blame but themselves for where they are and what may or may not happen to them.
No amount of your trying to defect blame for where they are at in life will change that.
Three prison deaths so far and a dozen or more articles about it. Over 100 nursing home deaths and only one article about it.
My concern is with the people confined to nursing homes and assisted living centers. You know. The people who lived a productive life and find themselves relying on assistance to live out their final years. Screw the criminals that chose to break the law and find themselves in a dangerous situation that they put themselves in.
Move the prisoners to Sam’s house, you pinko.
I spent some time at pickaway and it is a real shithole to begin with. It use to be a military site and its still the same today as it was 50 years ago. When it rains the lower floor always floods it has two floors and about 10 buildings that in no-way should hold the 2000 plus who live there.They should shut it down just like they did Orient that is right next door.
I was actually releease from there last year and I cant imagine there being 100 + people with the corona virus all staked on top of eachother. I feel so bad for them right now
Many of the PEOPLE in prison today did not at any point in their lives actually make a conscious decision to break the law. If they are actually guilty of their crimes in the first place and not falsely convicted as many are, then in many cases their crimes were influenced and committed while under the influence of mind altering substances, many including alcohol-that is known to impede memory, influence decision making, cause one to act on impulse, as well as change one’s personality and behavior. And that while knowing this our government made alcohol legal. If not for such effects of those substances, as well as other mitigating circumstances, their crimes would never have been committed. Many convicted are regretful and sorry for their crimes. And I might add that let’s remember they are all human beings NOT SENTENCED TO DEATH. Inmates with non-violent crimes should all be released and the remainder should be socially distanced to protect them from possible COVID19 death. After all, THEY ARE PEOPLE, UNCLES, AUNTS, BROTHERS, SISTERS,…. AND ULTIMATELY THEY AS WELL AS YOU ARE GOD’S FORGIVEN CREATION. SAVE THE PRISONERS FROM CORONA VIRUS. OTHERWISE YOU YOURSELF ARE GUILTY OF MASS MURDER.
Robert,
“mitigating circumstances”
You are part of the problem as to why there are so many people locked up. To take a paragraph, to make excuses for criminal activity is absolutely ridiculous, “Oh they were drunk or high so its not there fault”.
Who made the decision to get drunk or high?
I’m certain that with their already displayed, exemplary coherence to the law, they should certainly be relied upon to practice social distancing if released.
And you can put stuff in CAPS all you want – It will never change the root cause – repeated poor life decision making.
If you really think you need to preach to someone, the message should be DONT COMMIT CRIMES.
ENOUGH WITH THE EXCUSES.