Post by CC on Apr 22, 2009 16:00:50 GMT -5
Unrest erupts at Ohio prison
Fight, assault investigated in Marion
Two recent incidents at the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility -- a fight involving nearly two-thirds of the inmates and an assault in which a female corrections officer was trapped in a cell by two juveniles -- are being investigated by the State Highway Patrol.
Andrea Kruse, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Youth Services, said no one was seriously injured in either case. Kruse said officials do not think the incidents were triggered by tension related to the impending closure of the Marion facility July 1 as a result of state budget cuts.
Marion employees will find out next week where they will be transferred when the facility closes. Many will have union "bumping rights," meaning they can displace employees with less seniority at other state youth facilities.
Kruse said about 60 of the remaining 100 juvenile offenders still housed at Marion were involved in fights that broke out about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a recreation area.
"We're investigating it to determine the cause, the duration and who started it," Kruse said. "It was broken up and all the kids were back in their rooms before the Highway Patrol arrived."
In an incident Thursday, a 36-year-old female corrections officer, whose name was withheld, was "shoved into a cell where she was assaulted by two suspect inmates," according to a patrol report. Youth Services officials said the inmates were 16 and 18 years old.
The patrol said it is investigating potential charges against the inmates, including abduction, felonious assault and attempted rape.
The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing officers and employees at the youth prison, said any assault on a staff member should be taken seriously.
"I don't care if you work in a juvenile correctional facility or the state office tower, you should not be afraid to come to work," union spokeswoman Sally Meckling said.
The closing of Marion, the newest of the state's youth prisons, will result in transferring offenders with the highest security level to the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility and Ohio River Valley Correctional Facility in Franklin Furnace. Neither facility has handled a majority of high-security inmates.
Fight, assault investigated in Marion
Two recent incidents at the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility -- a fight involving nearly two-thirds of the inmates and an assault in which a female corrections officer was trapped in a cell by two juveniles -- are being investigated by the State Highway Patrol.
Andrea Kruse, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Youth Services, said no one was seriously injured in either case. Kruse said officials do not think the incidents were triggered by tension related to the impending closure of the Marion facility July 1 as a result of state budget cuts.
Marion employees will find out next week where they will be transferred when the facility closes. Many will have union "bumping rights," meaning they can displace employees with less seniority at other state youth facilities.
Kruse said about 60 of the remaining 100 juvenile offenders still housed at Marion were involved in fights that broke out about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a recreation area.
"We're investigating it to determine the cause, the duration and who started it," Kruse said. "It was broken up and all the kids were back in their rooms before the Highway Patrol arrived."
In an incident Thursday, a 36-year-old female corrections officer, whose name was withheld, was "shoved into a cell where she was assaulted by two suspect inmates," according to a patrol report. Youth Services officials said the inmates were 16 and 18 years old.
The patrol said it is investigating potential charges against the inmates, including abduction, felonious assault and attempted rape.
The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing officers and employees at the youth prison, said any assault on a staff member should be taken seriously.
"I don't care if you work in a juvenile correctional facility or the state office tower, you should not be afraid to come to work," union spokeswoman Sally Meckling said.
The closing of Marion, the newest of the state's youth prisons, will result in transferring offenders with the highest security level to the Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility and Ohio River Valley Correctional Facility in Franklin Furnace. Neither facility has handled a majority of high-security inmates.