When an inmate is accused of breaking an institutional rule, the incident is written up by the charging staff member as a conduct report (a.k.a. “a ticket”). Minor offenses are handled by a hearing officer, which is a unit sergeant. Major offenses are referred to the Rules Infraction Board (R.I.B.) by the unit sergeants. Whether a ticket is handled by a hearing officer or R.I.B., the inmate has the right to call witnesses, present evidence, and a few other things much like a court of law. Among the reasons this is so important is that the Parole Board can deny parole to an inmate for rules violations, educational programming can be denied, inmates can be rejected for institutional work assignments, and judicial releases can be turned down by judges.
The reason I am talking about this is because, over the years, this whole process has become increasingly biased against inmates. Unit staff, consisting of the Unit Manager Administrator, a Unit Manager, Two Case Managers and Two Unit Sergeants referred to as “Corrections Counselors”, are supposed to help inmates and address the inmates’ problems and concerns. Now, Unit Managers are directing their Unit Sergeants to find inmates guilty of rules infractions without ever hearing the inmates version of the events. In some cases, inmates are being found guilty of tickets with no evidence a rules infraction occurred. Not even video evidence. Staff, any staff, can write conduct reports on inmates for no other reason than they dislike the inmate, and the inmate can be found guilty. There are even those staff members who do this just to satisfy their sadistic need to punish inmates beyond what they have received by the courts. No evidence, no witnesses, and no chance to clear their names. Unit Sergeants are accusing inmates of rules infractions and telling regular corrections officers to write the conduct report which will be heard by that same sergeant. Of course they are going to be found guilty. The appeal process for all of this is even handled by staff members who will blatantly tell the inmate off record they will not refute one of their coworkers. I was even told once that inmates are never credible, and all staff members will be believed above any inmate.
Let me be perfectly clear. Not all staff are involved in this activity, and some are fair minded. The problem seems to be that the majority of staff engage in this behavior, and there is no recourse for inmates. The fair ones are so very few and far between.
In 2016, I was given a conduct report in which I demonstrated the charging staff lied in the report. According to Policy, this entire ticket should have been thrown out and the offense dismissed. I was found not guilty in part and guilty in part. I lost my institutional job, thrown out of the apprenticeship program I was in, and the Parole Board made a big deal about the situation during my hearing in 2018. Fact is, I am still being rejected for inclusion in many things due to this false ticket I received.
Inmates are treated like this in prison, and they lose all sense of fairness. They return to society with the idea that no matter what they do, they will be accused of any and every thing and found guilty. Imagine the hopelessness and despair this causes. The disenfranchisement. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections is failing to lead by example.
-Shane
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