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First came the riot. Then came the discipline.
During our months-long investigation of Ohio’s Reagan Tokes law, The Marshall Project - Cleveland uncovered records of a riot at Lake Erie Correctional Institution that had gone unreported by the media.
The state prison, owned and operated by CoreCivic, Inc., sustained a weather-related power outage in late August 2023. Backup generators failed, knocking out the lights and surveillance cameras. After a woman correctional officer was hit in the chest with a chair, guards abandoned their patrols. Staff resorted, instead, to bursts of tear gas through windows and doorways as incarcerated men covered windows and barricaded themselves inside with overturned tables and chairs.
Rioters broke at least 10 windows and destroyed office equipment. Three prisoners sustained injuries that required hospital treatment. Two staff members were treated for minor injuries onsite.
CoreCivic’s investigation of the incident — which led to more prison time for several men sentenced under the 2019 Reagan Tokes law, would figure prominently in our coverage. It would also offer a rare glimpse into a murky prison discipline process that affords no rights to legal counsel, to face their accusers or to review the evidence against them.
In their report to the warden two weeks after the riot, CoreCivic investigators said some prisoners admitted in recorded phone calls with friends and family to breaking windows or fighting. When order was restored, body cameras captured some men out of place in the dayroom.
What happened overnight, though, was unknown. There was no surveillance footage or guards on patrol. Instead, investigators offered anonymity to large numbers of “incarcerated individuals who were willing to come forward.”
Based solely on these confidential statements, about a dozen men, or half of those accused of rioting, would be put in segregation and later found guilty of breaking prison rules. Investigators said several accusers refused to put their allegations in writing. They simply pointed to pictures of fellow incarcerated men, who were ultimately bused to higher security prisons and given additional time, records show.
While people behind bars may appeal disciplinary decisions to lawyers who work for the state prison system, it’s local wardens and their staff who determine guilt, Ohio prisons spokesperson JoEllen Smith said.
CoreCivic Senior Public Affairs Director Ryan Gustin said in an email: “When an incident occurs in either of our Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (ODRC)-contracted facilities where an investigation is warranted, we follow the policies and procedures established by ODRC, as well as our own guidelines.”
– Doug Livingston
Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law is only keeping people in prison longer — not releasing anyone early
Before the Reagan Tokes law took effect in 2019, state prison administrators expected “no more than minimal” increases in the overall cost of incarceration if they were given the power to delay the release of people who engaged in misconduct behind bars.
Proponents of the law had argued that the public would be safer by keeping people who violate prison rules locked up for longer. The extra cost of longer prison stays would be offset by a provision in the bill allowing well-adjusted prisoners to go home early.
A Marshall Project - Cleveland investigation published last week shows those projections may have been misguided. No one has been released early.
Through the end of last year, prison administrators have used the law to hold 700 people beyond their minimum release dates, adding about 830 years of taxpayer-funded incarceration. Meanwhile, Ohio prison director Annette Chambers-Smith has denied every application for early release under the new law.
After more than 20 years of fixed prison terms, the Reagan Tokes law drastically overhauled Ohio’s criminal sentencing rules. More than 14,500 people have been sentenced under the law. Yet the state has not reviewed the law’s cost or its impact on public safety and prison conditions.
Read our investigation here.
– Doug Livingston
You asked driver’s license suspension questions, we answered
The Marshall Project - Cleveland has received more than 250 questions about Ohio’s new law designed to address the large number of drivers with suspended licenses and registrations.
We have now updated our original piece with answers to the most common questions from readers, including whether the law covered out-of-state suspensions (it doesn’t) and whether drivers still owe the unpaid fines and fees (they do). You can find the answers and new information here.
State officials started reaching out to local courts as early as February to sort out how many drivers had suspended licenses or registrations that would need to be removed under the new Ohio law. But as of this week, they have not sent out any letters informing drivers that their license suspensions or registration blocks have been removed.
As of April 21, nearly 90% of courts had downloaded their list of suspensions to review. But the majority of courts – 73% – have not verified for the state which suspensions should be removed and which should remain. For example, suspensions for failing to appear are not covered by the new law. Only suspensions related to unpaid fees and fines will be lifted.
Drivers told us they were anxious to get official word that their suspensions were lifted and that they could once again drive legally. Others said they were disappointed that the law would not help them restore their license.
– Rachel Dissell
Around the 216
- Cuyahoga County Council is considering legislation to eliminate funding for Sheriff Harold Pretel’s Downtown Safety Patrol and effectively end it. The move comes after a high-speed chase that ended in the deaths of two people. News 5
- Ohio lawmakers are considering changes to state public records laws that would severely restrict access to law enforcement records. The Ohio Innocence Project is one of the first to object to the proposal. WTOL.com
- Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is once again calling for reform to the state’s approach to the death penalty, while critics say it’s time to end the practice altogether. News 5
- The Ohio Supreme Court is set to hear arguments that could affect the parental rights of same-sex couples. It’s a case that could impact Ohio’s same-sex marriage laws. Ohio Capital Journal
