05.11.15
Solitary Confinement is NOT Rehabilitative
By Adrienne Gavula
It was a chilly October last year when my colleague and I visited the super-maximum security (super-max) Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown. Before entering, I thought there was nothing more restrictive than the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, aka Lucasville prison. I could not have been more wrong. Simply put, the building was built exclusively for… more »
05.08.15
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients Creates, Not Solves, Problems
By Gary Daniels
If you spend enough time at the Ohio Statehouse you quickly learn bad ideas have a habit of never going away. Such is the case with the drug-testing of welfare recipients. Legislation to accomplish this has been introduced in previous legislative sessions, but stalled for unknown reasons. Well, it’s coming once again, with a bill… more »
05.04.15
Is the Supreme Court Ready to Make Marriage Equality the Law of the Land?
By Susan J. Becker
Oral arguments provide a small window into the super-secretive process of Supreme Court deliberations. Justices frequently telegraph their views on the case in the questions they ask and their reactions to the attorneys’ answers. These often-feisty exchanges between justices and attorneys–and sometimes between the justices themselves–do not, however, always predict how the Court will rule…. more »
05.01.15
Vote: Let’s Get Free!
By Shakyra Diaz
In this country money and votes matter. These two factors determine whether or not the people elected to represent us will listen to us. We may or may not have the money to be heard but many of us do have the right to vote and that scares some people. No one tries to steal… more »
04.29.15
Ohio Prisons, Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness
By Adrienne Gavula
Let’s imagine… You are locked inside a room the size of your bathroom for 23 hours a day and let outside for one hour, but only when it’s warm and only in a cage the size of a walk-in closet. Your meals are eaten inside this room, and there is limited reading and television access…. more »
04.27.15
Voter Registration: Ohio Needs to Join the 21st Century
By Fred Ross
This is the second article in the “Online for All” series. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 finds that “discriminations against individuals with disabilities” persist in critical areas, such as voting. It stipulates that all state and local governments ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to government programs and services, as well… more »
04.24.15
Chains Hurt Children: The Harm of Restraints
By Shakyra Diaz
This is the fifth in a series of posts on the topic of juvenile shackling. The automatic shackling or use of restraints on youth in juvenile court does not promote safety. Instead, it actually promotes humiliation, hurts children’s mental and emotional stability, and fails to teach youth the concept of respect. Most children in the… more »
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04.22.15
Primetime: The Election Is Upon Us
By Lauren Lynch-Novakovic
You’ve talked back to your television screen, held conversations with your newspaper, called your mother on the phone, or exchanged witty banter over the fence with your neighbor, but those taxes are still high and those roads are still dangerous. Maybe you should try voting in the upcoming primary election instead. Your voice is heard… more »
Tags: Primary Election, Voting Rights 
04.20.15
Name Game: Ohio Can’t Hide Solitary Confinement
By Adrienne Gavula
It doesn’t matter whether you call it local control, disciplinary control, administrative segregation, or restrictive housing, it’s extreme isolation. Putting people in solitary confinement is something the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed “physical and mental torture.” Since 2012, Ohio has operated a tiered system in which prisoners are given a level ranging from 5b down… more »
04.17.15
Ohio Poised to Censor Crucial Guardianship Information
By Gary Daniels
Almost a year ago, The Columbus Dispatch began a series covering alarming gaps and abuse in Ohio’s guardianship system. It didn’t take long for lawmakers to respond and soon we had legislation to help bring reform in Ohio. Ohio House Bill (HB) 624, sponsored by Representative Dorothy Pelanda (R-District 86) during the 2013-2014 legislative session,… more »