By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press, and staff
COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine has provided a new list of 167 state prison inmates who could be eligible for release after 10 inmates and 27 employees at several institutions tested positive for the coronavirus.
UPDATE: There are 4,782 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 167 deaths
Prisons pose a unique issue in this pandemic. Social distancing in the general population is helping us #FlattenTheCurve – but for prison inmates and staff, #socialdistancing becomes much more challenging. pic.twitter.com/chpVZUskQe
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) April 7, 2020
The director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Tuesday recommended to the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee that some non-violent offenders in minimum-security facilities nearing the ends of their sentences and a smaller group of older inmates who suffer from health problems.
The move would allow for increased social distancing between prison staff and inmates, as required by the state’s overcrowding law.
“We are in an emergency,” DeWine said at his daily Statehouse news briefing. “An emergency that makes the situation more urgent. We are in unprecedented times.”
The Ohio Department of Health call center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to answer questions regarding COVID-19 at 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
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The first group of 141 prisoners are scheduled to be released in the next 90 days and were not convicted of serious charges such as sex offenses, homicide-related offenses, kidnapping, abduction, ethnic intimidation, making terroristic threats, or domestic violence.
The inmates also must not have been denied judicial release in the past, have a prior incarceration in Ohio, must not be an inter-state offender or wanted on any active warrants or have had a serious prison rule violation in the last five years.
DeWine has the final say on whether to authorize the emergency release of the prisoners.
“As a member of CIIC and someone who has been advocating for the release of low-level, non-violent offenders, especially those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, I look forward to working with the other CIIC members to review these cases expeditiously. It is our responsibility to make sure the health and safety of all Ohioans is a priority and this includes those in our state correctional facilities,” said state Rep. Erica Crawley (D-Columbus) one of the eight members of the General Assembly who serve on the committee.
The state Parole Board will meet this week to consider the request for the release of 26 inmates, age 60 or older, who are suffering from chronic health conditions.
These inmates have served more than half of their sentences and meet similar criteria to the larger group of inmates, DeWine said.
Because of the prisoner’ medical vulnerability, DeWine is asking judges and prosecutors associated with these cases to waive the required 60 days’ notice so that the parole board could take up the cases as early as Friday, though he said any victims of the offenses would be notified.
“In those cases where there are specific victims, those victims must and should receive notice and they will be given the opportunity for their voices to be heard,” he said.
After the parole board makes a recommendation on the cases, DeWine will decide for or against a commutation of each sentence.
He can accept recommendations from the parole board for additional conditions upon the release of the inmate or add to them and, if the conditions are violated, the offender would be sent back to prison to complete his/her sentence.
Among the 26 older inmates who could be released is a former Republican fundraiser convicted in a state investment scandal.
The list includes former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, the central figure in the scandal that engulfed Ohio’s Republicans in 2005.
The investigation led to 19 convictions that reached up to then-Ohio Gov. Bob Taft.
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Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the creation of a state Office of Small Business Relief to bring assistance efforts for the state’s 950,000 small businesses under one roof.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients who did not already receive the maximum monthly allotment for their household size will be issued an additional payment beginning this week.
All SNAP-eligible households will also soon be able to pick up a pre-packaged box of food at their local food bank. Ohio obtained federal approval to waive the administrative verification normally required at food banks to streamline the process and limit person-to-person contact.