COLUMBUS—Late in the evening of Tuesday May 24, the ACLU of Ohio sent a letter to all members of the House and Senate decrying an amendment added to the mid-biennium budget that essentially guts the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC). The CIIC is a legislative committee that inspects prisons around the state and publishes reports on how they are functioning.
“Considering most Ohioans know little about the operation of our prison system, CIIC is typically one of the best resources for information about what is happening in a given prison, or overall in the state system,” explained Mike Brickner, senior policy director.
“That power will now largely be curtailed at a time when we will see record numbers of prisoners as early as July 2016. This is appalling and a huge impediment to ensuring prisoners are treated humanely and constitutionally,” he concluded.
Read the ACLU of Ohio’s letter
Read the letter from Disability Rights Ohio
Read the letter from the Juvenile Justice Coaliton
Read the press release from the Ohio Justice & Policy Center
###
