In the year 2011, as many as 20682 offenders were put in Ohio’s state prison system. Out of the 20682 offenders, 18033 were males and 2649 were females. When categorized under very serious offenses, nearly 25% of the offenders were charged for drug related issues (trafficking, drug abuse etc), nearly 15% were charged with offenses committed in relation to property (breaking in, theft, arson etc), nearly 26% were charged with offenses committed against people (assault, robbery, homicide, domestic violence etc), nearly 11% were charged with burglary and 7% were charged with sexually motivated crimes. The rest of the offenders were charged with offenses such are fraud, offenses with fire arm, offenses committed against public administration along with many other felonies.
There are many programs and services that the Ohio prison system extends to inmates. The services aim to develop the inmates into better individuals during there time in the Prison. One such program is called ‘Reentry’. As per this program, rather than simply letting go of the prisoners after they have served their time, they should prepare the offenders to become better than who they were when they entered the prison. There vision is to develop the inmates by giving them opportunities to become productive members of the society they live in. By doing this they hope that, when these offenders are released, they would add to the safety and quality of life in the community they will move into.
The program aims to provide services as per the specific needs of the offender from the beginning of the sentence and if needed even after the release. In cases where help would be required even after the release, help will be sought from family members, professionals and even at times from victims of crime.
Education
The Ohio Central School System aims to provide inmates with the much required education, social skill, emotional skills and professional training required for the successful reentry of the offenders. The program includes: Basic adult literacy, GED or General Educational Development, Apprenticeship training, adult high school, Library, vocational and special education along with various other programs that are provided as per the demands and needs of the inmates.
Intensive Program Prison
This program is made up of many 90-day programs and is extended to suitable inmates. The programs include special treatment services, which are designed to cater to the specific requirement of every inmate who is a part of this program. The inmates who are able to successfully complete one of the 90-day program will have their sentence reduced to the time they have already spent in the prison. This is a great incentive for the inmates to positively respond to the various aspects of the program.
Recidivism is something that the staff at Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction definitely does not want to see go high. Therefore these programs have various correctional aspects to it, which in the past have proven to reduce recidivism. Inmates are assigned programs as per their specific needs.
Parole of a Dying Prisoner
In case there is a dying prisoner and the physician in charge of that prison is aware of it, then he or she will send the head of the department a certificate and a statement that would clearly state the situation the prisoner is in. After receiving this, the head of the department will create a background report of the situation, which will be signed and sent to the Governor along with the statement and certificate of the physician. If the governor finds the reason for parole reasonable he will authorize it and the papers for the parole of the dying prisoner will be handed over to the head of the department. In most cases the head of the department who handles this process from the prison’s side is the warden and in case the warded is absent, it will be done by the deputy warden. In case the death of the prisoner is imminent then the whole process will be done in the most expedited manner possible.