Supermax prison to remain under judge's watchful eye

Ohio's death row is moving to Youngstown, or more accurately, to the Ohio State Penitentiary on the city's East Side. But this should not cause Valley residents any sleepless nights. Why? Because not only is the prison the most secure in the state, hence the designation Supermax (Super Maximum), but a federal judge has made it clear he intends to keep a close watch over the goings-on behind the prison walls.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction sought the death row move from the Mansfield Correctional Institution to save money. Corrections officials estimate that between $5 million and $6 million will be saved by eliminating 91 jobs.
But before the 194 men could be transferred to the Supermax, U.S. District Court Judge James Gwin had to preside over a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to block the action. The ACLU argued that it would deny inmates their constitutional due process rights because a prior court ruling blocked inmates being sent to the Ohio State Penitentiary unless they were proved to be a security risk.
But the state persuaded Judge Gwin that the death row inmates would not be governed by the same rules and regulations that apply to regular Supermax residents, namely, being confined in 80-square-foot cells for 23 hours a day, being subjected to strip searches and being given limited access to telephones and personal items.
By contrast, individuals on death row will be allowed out of their cells 35 hours a week, will have five hours of outdoor recreation time a week and will be permitted to eat together, which they can't do now.
Stern warning
In clearing the way for the transfer, Gwin said the ACLU had not proved that the move "would create an atypical or significant hardship," but he did have a stern warning for state corrections officials: I'll be watching.
The judge contented that "earlier failures inspire caution in accepting future promises," which means the onus is now on the state to demonstrate that the new programs it says have been developed for regular Supermax inmates in response to various lawsuits are being implemented.
Gwin's uneasiness with the operation of the Youngstown facility, which opened in 1998, employs 245 guards and has a population of 230, was also voiced by justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in April. The High Court was asked to approve Ohio's system for transferring inmates into the prison. The case did not ask whether super maximum-security prisons violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Rather, at issue was the constitutionality of the process by which the state determines which inmates are assigned to the penitentiary or which are cleared to leave the facility.
During oral presentation, Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed the concern that the new transfer policy devised by the state had not taken effect. "We have somewhat of a moving target," Kennedy said.
Attorney General Jim Petro assured the justices that the new policy would be fully implemented. Petro repeated that assurance this week after Judge Gwin gave the state permission to move death row to the Supermax.
Judge Gwin's insistence on keeping a close watch over what is going on in the penitentiary will ensure that the state lives up to its commitment with regard to the regular inmate population and those on death row. That's a good thing.