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Trump is the favored candidate in a political survey of nearly 3,000 incarcerated people in Ohio
Today, the Marshall Project - Cleveland published political opinions from inside Ohio prisons and jails as part of a national survey of incarcerated people in the United States.
The Ohio survey participants represented more White people than the national sample. State figures also show that while Black people are 46% of Ohio’s incarcerated prison population, they accounted for 24% of survey respondents in prison. Still, similar to what the state’s general electorate has expressed in public polling, Ohio respondents said they would support former President Donald Trump.
People who took the survey said they don’t recommend prison for Trump’s 34 felony convictions in New York for arranging hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. And they have mixed opinions about framing this election, like Democrats and some in the media have, as a race between “a felon” and “a prosecutor.” Vice President Kamala Harris is a former prosecutor and California attorney general.
The unweighted survey of 54,000 incarcerated people in America included nearly 3,000 participants in Ohio. It’s a follow-up to an unprecedented national survey in 2020 that challenged the notion that imprisoned people would vote for Democrats if they could.
The survey this year was given before and after Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee. With sometimes critical reviews of her prosecutorial record as a former district attorney in San Francisco, people incarcerated in Ohio shifted more dramatically toward Harris than their peers incarcerated in other states. That’s especially true of Black participants in Ohio, who flipped from supporting Trump in the earlier survey to Harris in the second round.
“History will be made either way,” said Anthony Holley, a Black man incarcerated at Pickaway Correctional Institution who identifies as an independent. “Either we will have the first female president or the first convicted felon president.”
Read our story and more responses to the survey.
– Rachel Dissell and Doug Livingston
Cuyahoga County Jail inspection deadline missed despite civil rights lawsuit settlement terms
Earlier this year, Cuyahoga County agreed to start jail inspections within 180 days of settling a civil rights lawsuit brought over jail conditions. But the county didn’t finalize hiring an expert until after the deadline passed, and The Marshall Project - Cleveland asked why.
The 2018 lawsuit filed by 19 incarcerated persons focused on improving conditions and oversight for the jail. The agreement called for the county to hire an inspector, as well as a contract monitor for MetroHealth, the jail’s healthcare provider.
Donald Leach, a Utah-based corrections consultant, was chosen to conduct bi-annual inspections and issue public reports. Leach said in late September that he has yet to sign a contract or inspect the jail in “well over a year.”
However, after The Marshall Project - Cleveland questioned the delay, the county finalized his contract, which was approved by the Cuyahoga County Board of Control on Monday. Leach’s first jail inspection is now scheduled for Nov. 4, according to Kelly Woodard, communications director for county executive Chris Ronayne.
Cleveland civil rights attorney Sarah Gelsomino, who represented the plaintiffs, said the settlement called for the county to start jail inspections in September.
“We gave them a 180-day deadline, which was their idea and beyond fair,” Gelsomino said. “They should have done this years ago.”
The MetroHealth compliance officer position has yet to be finalized, Woodard wrote in an email.
“The essence of the agreement was more transparency — they can’t operate in the dark,” Gelsomino said. “I hoped they learned something. It is the only way they can keep people safe in that jail.”
– Brittany Hailer
Through acting, song and dance, Voices of Injustice shares stories of wrongful conviction
Voices of Injustice presented “The Lynched Among Us,” a theatrical production amplifying the personal stories of exonerees and wrongful convictions, on Friday, Oct. 11 at Cleveland State University College of Law. The performances included monologues, raps and plays centering the experiences of various cast members.
“We felt it was our time to just take the steering wheel and do our own representation of wrongful conviction,” Ru-El Sailor told Signal Cleveland. Sailor owns the Comma Club clothing store, where he hosts Voices of Injustice meetings and rehearsals.
At the end of the show, writer and director Alfred Cleveland encouraged audience members to vote and get involved in helping people who have been wrongly convicted.
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Around the 216
- The family of Jayland Walker, who was killed in 2022 when Akron police officers fired over 90 shots following an attempted traffic stop, have settled their lawsuit against the city for $4.85 million. WKYC 3News
- Amid criticism of Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, people attending the "Portage County Action Team: Power of Sheriffs" event said Ohio sheriffs should be held more accountable for their actions. Ohio.com
- The Ohio Supreme Court has increased the cap on campaign contributions to those running for judicial seats in 2025. Court News Ohio
