Ohio prisons chief says violence surging in penal system

COLUMBUS (AP) — The state’s prisons chief tells Ohio lawmakers he now receives reports seven days a week about major violent incidents within the system.

At a state Senate hearing Tuesday, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Gary Mohr pointed to statistics, including a near quadrupling of clashes involving six or more inmates within the last three years.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Mohr testified in support of a bill intended to reduce the state’s soaring prison population.

The legislation is sponsored by Republican Sen. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, who described Ohio’s prison system as a tinderbox that he said was “about to blow.”

Bills introduced in the Ohio Senate and House would expand the use of probation while lengthening sentences for the most serious offenders.