More Than Half Of Ohio's Inmates Quarantined Due To Coronavirus

MARION, OH — As inmates and corrections officers continue to contract the new coronavirus, more than half of Ohio's prison inmates have been quarantined, according to data from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. At least three inmates have died because of COVID-19, officials said.

Of the state's nearly 49,000 inmates, more than 32,000 have been quarantined. A department spokesperson said quarantined inmates may have been exposed to the virus but have not shown symptoms of the sickness.

Since the start of the outbreak, at least 489 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. The state has placed 499 prisoners into isolation, meaning they are removed from the general population to prevent the spread of the virus. Gov. Mike DeWine has recommended the release of hundreds of inmates.

According to Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit policy research group, the state needs to release far more prisoners — and soon.

Wardens at Ohio prisons with dorm-style units have resorted to asking inmates to sleep head-to-foot in an effort to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19, an ODRC spokesperson told Patch. Visitation and volunteer activities have been suspended, and all staff undergo regular health screenings.

Officials said cleaning crews are disinfecting surfaces in prisons, teleconferencing has increased and staff and inmates can now wear masks. But it's not enough, critics say.

"It’s not too late to save lives. [The state] needs to address this urgently," Piet van Lier, a researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, told Patch. According to van Lier's research, 9,479 Ohio inmates are over the age of 50 and are, therefore, at high risk if they contract COVID-19.

He recommended the state begin looking to release Level 1 offenders — inmates the state has classified as unlikely to violate prison rules.

Level 1 offenders are usually housed in dorms and have significant freedom of movement, van Lier said. Inmates at this security level can be carefully screened for work details outside the secured perimeter or for housing in a single fence camp.

As of March 17, there were 14,287 Level 1 inmates at Ohio prisons, according to ODRC data obtained by Patch. In 2019, were also 2,608 inmates who were incarcerated because of drug possession offenses. Ohio voters considered defelonizing drug possession in 2018 but ultimately voted down a measure that would have changed the state's laws.

"We should be looking at who is at high risk of contracting the virus and who poses the least risk of committing a crime," van Lier said. "Prison is supposed to rehabilitate. You can easily imagine someone who has been in prison for three decades and has genuinely changed."

Due to the dense inmate populations and rapid spread of COVID-19 at the Franklin Medical Center, Pickaway Correctional Institution and Marion Correctional Institution, the state has started testing all incarcerated people for the virus.

"The Franklin Medical Center and Pickaway Correctional Institution house a number of individuals who have existing medical conditions, and the Marion Correctional Institution is currently seeing the highest number of positive testing results among the population," an ODRC spokesperson told Patch.

Spread Among Guards

The conditions inside Ohio prisons have also created dangers for the state's nearly 13,000 prison guards and staff, according to Chris Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association. At least one prison guard at Marion has died due to complications from COVID-19.

John Dawson, 55, an officer at the Marion Correctional Institution since 1996, died due to COVID-19 complications. DeWine said Dawson worked at the prison's control center and had "underlying health conditions."

At least two other guards at the Marion Correctional Institution have tested positive for the virus, a source familiar with the situation told Patch.

"We’re not essential, we’re sacrificial. That’s the feeling of people right now,” Mabe told the Ohio Capital Journal. Workers need more personal protective equipment, better hazard pay and more sick leave, he argued.

Mabe declined to comment for Patch's article.