I am delighted that you have taken an interest in the OHFADS web site and the information presented here concerning injustices inflicted upon Ohio's citizens who happen to be incarcerated. All Ohio citizens should be concerned about the way our state government does business. Anytime the politicians or the the governmental structure starts acting as though they are above the law and that the individual citizen is expendable, we as citizens are in real danger of losing our rights and freedom. Unfortunately, this is the case today. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, through its subsidiary agency the Adult Parole Authority, is committing wholesale civil rights violations and using the excuse that Ohio's citizens want them to do it.

The following, "An Analysis of Prisoner Release Data for the State of Ohio," covers as accurately as possible with available data, the real world actions of the Dept. of Rehab. and Corr. and the Adult Parole Authority over the last six years. The data used is actual release data from one of Ohio's minimum/medium security prisons. This data is verifiable and shows the actions of our "Criminal Justice System" throughout the whole state. It cannot be reasonably assumed that what this data shows is restricted to this one institution. These abuses take place every day throughout the 29 institutions that comprise the domain of Mr. Reginald Wilkinson and his agency.

The individuals who assembled this data have been trying to get someone, anyone, to take this problem seriously for over a year now. Finally, a Dayton paper published the first expose concerning the Adult Parole Authority's actions. With that one article the door swung open and other papers picked up the cause. I am ecstatic that finally the voting public is being made aware of the irresponsible behavior of our public servants. These people forget that we, as citizens of Ohio, ARE the goverment. They, from the Governor to the garbage collector, are our employees. When they abuse any one of us, they abuse us all! When they squander tax dollars, they are squandering our hard earned money, not theirs!

The following reading may not be as "politically correct as some would like. It's wording is blunt and to the point. It is not written from any political perspective but rather looks at the problem from an irate citizen's viewpoint. What is happening is wrong. It is detrimental to society as a whole. It is also wasting hundreds of millions of dollars that could be going to solve our school funding dilemma.

After you have read the analysis, viewed the accompanying documents, and checked out the graphs, read it again. If you would like to check this data yourself, contact OHFADS and request the parole release data. It will be forwarded to you as quickly as possible. It will require a statistical program on your computer and graphics capability to properly analyze what you will receive.

Please don't just read this and dismiss it or shake your head and say, "That's terrible!" Do something about it! Write your legislators and demand that the Adult Parole Authority and it's new Kiddie Parole Board subdivision (yes, they now have a parole board for the children) be abolished and that all prisoners' sentences be adjusted to conform to the new criminal sentencing code! Eliminating the Adult Parole Authority would stop all present and future abuses! Making all prisoners' sentences conform to the new sentencing codes would eliminate the need for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new prisons and would save additional hundreds of millions in operating costs! It would also result in the closing of some of Ohio's dilipidated, expensive to maintain, no longer needed prisons. It is your pocket book, your taxes and your state employees. Make them do their jobs and do them for the best interest of Ohio's citizens and not their political careers. Your voice counts!

Those of us who accumulated this data are actively seeking an attorney that would be willing to assist us and represent us in the filing of a 1983 civil rights suit based on the discrimination, due process and equal protection violations this data identifies. If you are an attorney and would be willing to help us correct this injustice, please write OHFADS and ask that the letter be forwarded to Kenneth Smith. You will be contacted as soon as I receive your letter.

No matter who you are or where you live, this problem affects you! Do all you can to make your voice heard and don't stop until our state government finally starts acting in OUR best interests as a whole and stops catering to special interest groups which could care less about Mister, Mrs., or Miss Ohio Citizen. One voice DOES make a difference!