The following has been submitted by an experienced litigator in the courtrooms of Ohio. It is a truism that some of the best legal minds in criminal law are former prisoners of state and federal institutions. The National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys recognizes the great boon to their profession that the "jailhouse lawyer" has become, especially when dealing with matters of procedural default by the trial court, malfeasance of duty by prosecutors, and simple errors in statutory interpretation by the arbiter of justice, the trial judge.
Unfortunately, many have been the maneuvers of late to limit a prisoner's right to courtroom litigation. Biased news reports of recent years focused on the sensationalistic "Peanut-butter" litigation, or equally ridiculous claims of "worn-out shoes" by individuals with whom most jailhouse lawyers do not deign to associate. Even Ohio's own, Betty Montgomery, used the "frivolous claims" rationale, overblown and held up as the example for most prisoner claims, to urge the passage of legislation that now makes it a Herculean task for a prisoner to get real justice in a courtroom.
The reader of the below articles, and of the many others appearing at this site written by well-seasoned "jailhouse lawyers," would do well to bear in mind that the last frontier of justice is the prisoner's cell and the last stand against tyranny is the prisoner's presence in the courtroom. When it is made more difficult for citizens to know the law, to follow the law, and when accused to find justice from the law, democratic principles fly out the oak-panelled doors of justice and into the iron gates of prisons increasingly scattered across this vast land of promise.
MY NAME IS MARK JOHNSON. I WAS SENTENCED T0 THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS ON FEBRUARY 22nd 1993. I AM A REPEAT OFFENDER (NON-VIOLENT). WHEN I WAS SENTENCED, AND I FINALLY ARRIVED TO MY "PARENT" INSTITUTION, I HAD NO IDEA THAT I WOULD BE LITERALLY SENTENCED TO FIGHTING FOR MY NATURAL LIFE. THE STATE OF OHIO NEVER INTENDED FOR WARDS OF THE STATE TO LIVE IN CONSTANIT FEAR OF, "WHAT IS TO COME...."
I WOULD LIKE TO STATE WITH PARTICULARITY THAT THE ENACTMENT OF THE "NEW LAWS" AND THE OHIO ADULT PAROLE BOARD'S "NEW PROCEDURES" IN REDUCING THE NUMBER OF INMATES WHO MAKE PAROLE IS CAUSING QUITE A SERIOUS OVERCROWDING PROBLEM. AS OF 1990, THE BOARD HAS "SYSTEMATICALLY DECREASED THE NUMBER OF INMATES THAT IT PAROLES YEARLY, AND AT A CONSTANT RATE HAS DECLINED FROM ROUGHLY 60% IN 1990 TO 20% IN THE YEAR OF 1997. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BECOME ELIGIBLE IS CONSTANTLY ON THE WAY UP, WHILE THE NUMBER OF THOSE DENIED PAROLE IS ON THE INCREASE. THE STATISTICS IN 1997 SHOW THAT THE BOARD ONLY CONSIDERS FOR RELEASE 20% OF THE INMATE POPULATION WHO WERE ELIGIBlLE FOR PAROLE. THE SEVERITY OF THE CRIMES HAS NOT CHANGED, JUST THE THINKING AND THE POLICY OF THE BOARD HAS CHANGED, BUT BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?
THE BOARD WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER AN OFFENDER WAS A LIKELY CANDIDATE TO EITHER ABIDE BY THE RULES OF PAROLE, OR A LIKELY RECIDIVIST. NOW WHEN THE MEMBERS OF THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD STARTED TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES, AS TO HOW MUCH TIME AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD SERVE AS COMPARED TO THE MINIMUM SENTENCE GIVEN BY THE SENTENCING JUDGE, THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD DID BY LAW WHAT IT IS ILLEGAL FOR THEM TO DO, WHICH IS TO INVADE THE JUDICIAL SPHERE OF THE SENTENCING COURTS, AN AREA THAT IS THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE SENTENCING JUDGES AND NOT MEMBERS OF THE OHIO ADULT PAROLE BOARD.
IF YOU WOULD LOOK AT THE WORDS OF MS. MARGARETTE GHEE, CHAIR OF THE OHIO ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY, YOU WILL SEE SHE HAS STATED THAT THEY ARE THE SOLE POWER WHO DETERMINE, NOT THE RECIDIVISM RATE, BUT HOW MUCH TIME THEY THINK THE JUDGE ACTUALLY MEANT AFTER GIVING THE OFFENDER HIS MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SENTENCE. CLEARLY, THEN, THE BOARD HAS LOST SIGHT OF ITS PRIMARY FUNCTION.
MS. GHEE HAS OPENLY STATED THAT THEY HAVE INCREASED AN INMATE'S SENTENCE BASED UPON THE SEVERITY OF THE CHARGE, NOT WHETHER THE OFFENDER WILL RESPOND POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY TO HIS RELEASE AND SUPERVISION. FURTHER, MS. GHEE HAS BEEN QUOTED TO SAY: "THERE IS SUCH A THING AS PUNISHMENT FIRST, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT REHABILITATION." BY WHAT AUTHORITY CAN SHE STAND BY HER STATEMENTS WHEN CLEARLY, THE SUPREME COURTS HAVE DECIDED THAT SENTENCING WAS IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE SENTENCING JUDGE? CLEARLY, MS. GHEE HAS GROSSLY OVERSTEPPED HER BOUNDARIES.
HER MOST FAMOUS WORDS FOR PUTTING HER FOOT IN HER MOUTH WAS WHEN SHE STATED THAT SHE DOUBTS THAT PRISONERS WERE ON THE VERGE OF A RIOT. WELL, ON APRIL 22nd, 1993, ONE (1) GUARD AND NINE (9) INMATES WERE KILLED (EDITOR'S NOTE: LUCASVILLE UPRISING), AND POST RIOT REPAIRS, MEDICAL AND LEGAL COSTS HAVE TOTALLED NEARLY 70 MILLION DOLLARS. ALSO, TICO, ORIENT, AND THE KILLING AT LIMA CORRECTIONS, MANSFIELD, AND DAYTON CORRECTIONS -- ALL HAVE SUFFERED RIOT DAMAGE, ALL IN 1997. (EDITOR'S NOTE: A DISTURBANCE AT RCI, IN MID-AUGUST, CAN ALSO BE ADDED TO THIS LIST.) ADD A RACE RIOT IN MADISON, AND THE SUBSEQUENT DEATH OF A 19 YEAR-OLD BLACK INMATE -- SO THE NEXT TIME YOU HEAR THE WORDS OF MS. GHEE. . . DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!
SINCE THE ENACTMENT OF SENATE BILL 2, CERTAIN STATE OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN GETTING JUST A BIT "EDGEY," TO PUT IT MILDLY, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEIR "SWEET JOBS" AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY "GODS" WILL BE LEAVING THEM AND THEY MUST BECOME LIKE ORDINARY, EVERYDAY PEOPLE WHO MUST SEEK HONEST WORK. THE IRONY OF THIS SITUATION IS THAT A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD JOB SECURITY FOR MANY YEARS ARE SECOND-JUDGING A POPULATION WHO HAVE TO WORK TO MAKE ENDS MEET, WHERE THERE IS NO JOB SECURITY, NO PAY INCREASES, AND THE AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL IS SUBJECT TO STRIKE, PLANT CLOSINGS, AND THE LIKE, BUT AS SOON AS THE JOB FAILS AND MONEY IS HARD TO COME BY, ANY DEVIATION FROM THE HONEST PATH MAY LAND AN OFFENDER IN JAIL FOR HIS VERY FIRST TIME. THE IRONY BEHIND THAT, IS THAT THEY WILL BE JUDGED BY A 12-MEMBER PANEL THAT HAS NEVER HAD TO WORRY ABOUT JOB SECURITY OR LAYOFFS, AND PAROLE BOARD MEMBERS, AT THEIR PRESENT SALARY, REALLY DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MAKING ENDS MEET. SO, IN ALL ACTUALITY, THEY HAVE LOST TOUCH WITH THE REAL WORLD. FURTHER, THE PAROLE BOARD IS GETTING THEIR FIRST TOUCH AT BEING UNEMPLOYED.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING. THE BOARD KNOWS THAT IT IS A "DYING BUREAUCRACY." THEY KNOW THAT SENATE BILL 2 IS THE "DEATH STROKE" TO THEIR REIGN OF POWER. NOW THE PLOT THICKENS . . . THEY KNOW THAT AS SOON AS THE LAST INMATE SENTENCED UNDER THE GRANDFATHER CLAUSE -- PRE-SENATE BILL 2 IS MAXED OUT OR PAROLED -- THEIR JOBS ARE OVER. WHAT THEY INTEND TO DO ABOUT THAT IS . . . FOR STARTERS, A CERTAIN FEW MEMBERS HAVE STARTED TO USE VERY HOSTILE, RACIALLY CHARGED CRITERIA IN THE DENIAL OF PAROLE, AND THEY HAVE BEEN JUST A LITTLE MORE THAN JUST VOCAL. THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY CAN CAUSE JUST ONE MAJOR UPROAR, JUST ONE MAJOR RIOT, WHICH TOTALLY DESTROYS ONE PENAL FACILITY, THEY GET A TEMPORARY "STAY OF EXECUTION" -- THEY GET TO KEEP THEIR JOBS.
SINCE 1990, THE BOARD HAS SYSTEMATICALLY, DRASTICALLY CUT BACK ON THE NUMBER OF PAROLES THAT IT WAS ACCUSTOMED TO GIVING OUT, NO MATTER WHAT THE CHARACTER OF THE OFFENDER. THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD NEEDS BODIES AND LOTS OF THEM. THEY KNOW THAT IF JUST ONE RIOT BREAKS OUT THAT CREATES AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, THAT IT WILL CAUSE OHIO'S DRC TO RELOCATE CLOSE TO 2,000 INMATES OR MORE, AND WHEN THIS IS DONE, THE BOARD WILL BE FACED WITH PAROLING PEOPLE WHO ARE THE LEAST RISK TO SOCIETY, WHICH MEANS OTHER INMATES SENTENCED UNDER SENATE BILL 2. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, OTHER INMATES SENTENCED UNDER THAT BILL WILL FILE SUIT CLAIMING UNCONSTITUTIONALITY, PROMPTING LEGISLATORS TO FIGHT FOR THE CHANGE, AND THE PAROLE BOARD WILL BE IN FOR "HAPPY DAYS" AGAIN. BUT, AT WHOSE EXPENSE? THE BOARD MAY APPEAR TO BE COMING TO THE RESCUE, WHEN ALL ALONG, IT WAS THE INITIAL CAUSE OF AN ALL-OUT RIOT. THIS SOUNDS LIKE AN UNLAWFUL INTEREST IN A PUBLIC CONTRACT.
LET'S GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER. I CANNOT TELL THE READERS OF THIS ARTICLE WHEN THE BOARD STARTED USING RACIAL CRITERIA IN ITS PAROLE DETERMINATIONS, BUT I CAN SAY THIS. . . I SAW THEM ONCE IN MY LIFE AND WHAT I WAS TOLD WOULD MAKE THE HARDEST OF KLANSMEN VERY PROUD, AND THE MOST MEEK OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS CONTEMPLATE HOMICIDE. THIS UNLAWFUL DEROGATORY, HIGHLY FLAMMABLE RACIAL CRITERIA IS BEING DONE FOR ONE REASON . . . TO CAUSE CHAOS. AS I SAID BEFORE, I CAME HERE TO DO MY TIME AS GIVEN TO ME BY THE SENTENCING JUDGE, NOT TO BE IN A CONSTANT STRUGGLE FOR MY NATURAL LIFE! WHAT IS HARDER TO CONTEMPLATE IS THE FACT THAT I AM NOT ALONE -- THERE ARE 50 THOUSAND MORE WHO MUST ENDURE INHUMANE TREATMENT BY THE SO-CALLED, PUBLICLY CLAIMED (LITTLE GODS).
MOST OF ALL I WANT THE READERS TO T H I N K OF THE 50 THOUSAND WHO ARE LOCKED UP AND REPEATEDLY DENIED PAROLE. I WANT YOU TO THINK BECAUSE WE ALL, FOR THE MOST PART, WILL BE COMING HOME, AND IT IS HOW WE RETURN TO YOU THAT IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE, BECAUSE IT IS PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO WILL BE COMING TO A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR YOU, AND I AM NOT HAPPY.
THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF OHIOANS WITH LOVED ONES INCARCERATED, FOR MINOR CRIMES, MISDEMEANORS, OFFENSES LESS THAN 300 DOLLARS, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT SON OR DAUGHTER GOING HOME IN A BODY BAG IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY HARSH REALITY, ALL BECAUSE A SELECT HANDFUL OF INDIVIDUALS ARE AFRAID OF LOSING THEIR JOBS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF THE BOARD CONTINUES TO DROP THE RATE OF PAROLES TO PEOPLE SENTENCED UNDER THE OLD LAW WHILE THE PEOPLE UNDER THE NEW LAW, SENATE BILL 2, CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE BENEFIT OF NOT BEING SUBJECTED TO THE (LITTLE GODS) OF THE OHIO ADULT PAROLE BOARD? WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF THE BOARD CONTINUES TO USE HIGHLY INFLAMMATORY RACIAL CRITERIA IN THE DENIAL OF PAROLE, MOTIVATED TOWARD A PREDOMINANTLY BLACK PRISON POPULATION?
WHAT I SEE IS A MULTITUDE OF GRIEVING MOTHERS AND FATHERS ASKING THE STATE "WHY?" AND "WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO PREVENT THIS?" BUT YOU WILL NEVER GET THE ANSWER YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IF YOU GET AN ANSWER AT ALL. I CAN ALSO SEE A NEW TAX LEVY BEING IMPOSED FOR THE BUILDING OR THE REBUILDING OF A PENAL FACILITY, RIPPED APART BY A STATE AGENCY THAT HAS LOST SIGHT OF ITS PRIMARY FUNCTION, THAT PUTS PUNISHMENT FIRST, THEN REHABILITATIION SECOND.
I AM A VICTIM OF THE PAROLE BOARD'S MALICIOUS, RACIALLY MOTIVATED HOSTILITY TOWARDS BLACK INMATES. I ONLY SAW THE BOARD ONCE, AND I KNEW THAT IF I DID NOT START MY FIGHT NOW, I MAY NEVER GET A SECOND OPPORTUNITY, BECAUSE WHEN A PRISON RIOT TAKES PLACE. . . NO ONE IS SAFE, AND . . . ALL SOULS ARE UP FOR GRABS.
IF AN INMATE COMPLAINS ABOUT BEING MISTREATED, THAT INMATE IS SINGLED OUT FOR MORE HARSH TREATMENT, AND IF A PRISON GUARD SPEAKS OUT, EITHER FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS STAFF MEMBERS OR ON BEHALF OF AN INMATE, HE IS QUIETLY OSTRACIZED, THEN TERMINATED. THE BOARD'S RATIONALE IS . . . "WHO IS THIS PEON GUARD OR INMATE WHO WOULD DARE QUESTION OUR AUTHORITY? GET RID OF HIM, OR LET'S GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT -- AN EXTRA FIVE YEARS SHOULD DO!"
WHEREAS, I DO NOT HAVE A STRONG VOICE, BUT I HAVE STARTED THIS FIGHT BECAUSE MY LIFE IS AT STAKE, I WILL CONTINUE MY FIGHT TILL BY LAST BREATH. I ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE AND THEY WILL NOT TAKE IT FROM ME WITHOUT A GOOD FIGHT. CURRENTLY, I AM IN THE SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO. THE CASE NUMBER IS 97-3463. I AM DETERMINED TO SEE THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH. IF YOU ARE CURIOUS AS TO WHAT KIND OF DANGER YOUR INCARCERATED LOVED ONES ARE IN . . . THEN ASK THE COURT WHAT IS THE CRITERIA BEHIND CASE NUMBER 97-3463. MARK A. JOHNSON V. THE OHIO ADULT PAROLE AUTHORITY.
THERE IS AN OLD SAYING: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE PAROLE BOARD IS BROKEN, HAS NEVER WORKED, AND WILL NEVER WORK. THERE COMES A GOOD TIME TO PUT AN END TO BAD RUBBISH. OHIO, IT IS TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH!
I PRAY THAT THE NEWSCASTERS AND PUBLISHERS PRINT THIS STORY. I PERSONALLY WANT THEM TO KNOW I AM NOT AFRAID OF THEM, AND I CHALLENGE THEM TO PROVE ME A LIAR.
MS. GHEE WOULD BE SMART TO READ EXCERPTS FROM THE MONEYCHANGERS, BY ARTHUR HAILEY, pg.242 (1976):
GIVEN ANY TIME AT ALL, PRISON COULD ONLY DEGRADE AND WORSEN HIM; COULD ONLY INCREASE HIS HATRED OF "THE SYSTEM" WHICH HAD SENT HIM THERE; COULD ONLY REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF HIS EVER BECOMING, EVER A USEFUL, LAWABIDING CITIZEN. AND THE LONGER HIS SENTENCE, THE LESS LIKELIHOOD THERE WAS OF ANY . . . MORAL SALVAGE.
PLEASE WRITE ME AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS:
MARK A. JOHNSON
#268-283 P.O. BOX 1812
MARION OHIO 43301