March Prison Rally!!

[countrygal]

Chillicothe Prison Demonstration!!!
Strength In Unity!

Event: Demonstration
Location: Chillicothe Correctional Institution, Ross County Ohio)
Date and Time: March 23rd / 11:00am to 1:00pm)

Join us in front of the prison March 23rd to show our opposition to the growing number of issues and concerns. We are protesting the injustices that are inherent in the prison system, such as:

Private Prisons
Brutality against prisoners;
Corruption and dereliction of duty of guards and staff;
Exploitation of prison labor as slave labor;
Visiting conditions and policies;
Inadequate Medical Treatment and the Hepatitis C Epidemic;
Inadequate Grievance Procedure;

This demonstration gives us the opportunity to reach two prisons with one demonstration and we will be getting our message out to a small rural town that has long benefited from the exploitation of prisoners.

Guest speakers will be announced and a sound system will be available for those who wish to speak.

Help us spread the word of this demonstration. Bring your friends and families, and if you have a friend or loved one in either of these prisons, let them know that we will be out there on that date and time.

Bring your signs, banner and bullhorns. Dress warm, it will be cold and windy!
Coffee and Hot Cocoa will be provided.

Sponsors of this demonstration:CURE-Ohio,
OhPRUP (Ohio Prison Reform Unity Project,)
AFSC (American Friends Service Committee),
SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policies),
PAN-Ohio (Prisoner Advocate Network)
Backpack 4 Friends,
COCA (Community Organization Center),
Write Words Prison Ministry,
Zanesville Hepatitis C Support Group.
Kenny Richey Campaign


Driving Directions: From Columbus - -Take 71 South to the Stringtown Road exit. Turn left (east) onto Stringtown until it deadends at Rt. 104. Turn right (south) on 104. We would be on the left hand side of the road, just past Hopewell Cultural Center.

15802 State Route 104 North
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601
740-773-2616

For more information contact: Christy ohprup@justice.com
See You There!!
OH PRUP Coordinator
1-877-352-0614

[countrygal]

Media Awareness Project


US OH: Protesters To Demonstrate At Local Prison
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n466/a08.html
Newshawk: http://DrugPolicyCentral.com/bot
Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2003
Source: Chillicothe Gazette (OH)
Copyright: 2003 Chillicothe Gazette
Contact: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/cu...contactus.html
Website: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2749
Author: Lisa Roberson


PROTESTERS TO DEMONSTRATE AT LOCAL PRISON

Injustice in Ohio prisons and jails is real, according to organizers who want residents to get involved in a demonstration scheduled for Sunday in front of Chillicothe Correctional Institution.

Christy Tigner, coordinator of Ohio Prison Reform Unity Project and event sponsor, said she was not aware of the problems herself until a family member was placed in an Ohio prison and began writing home describing the deplorable conditions.

Tigner said the complaints she heard about Ross and Chillicothe Correctional Institutions include retaliation from guards, prisoners not receiving their mail, inadequate medical care and guards who encourage drug use by bringing illegal narcotics into the prisons.

It pulled at her heart and forced her to act.

"When we started protesting we would first target the prison that we received the most complaints about but now the campaign has broaden to include at least one protest a month at one of the 33 Ohio correctional institutes," she said.

Tigner said she and the half dozen other prison reform groups that stage the demonstrations have been met with little opposition by prison officials. The only prison in which the demonstration was not approved was the Mansfield Correctional Institution.

They would not let protesters anywhere on their property but Tigner said she later received a permit to protest across the street.

"For the most part the wardens and other officials take us seriously and understand we stand strong by our convictions and will not go away," Tigner added.

For the RCI and CCI demonstration, RCI Warden Pat Hurley said the protesters are allowed to stand in the buffer zone adjacent to Ohio 104 at the entrance to the parking lot away from any visible contact with inmates.

Hurley said his only concern for the residents, supporters and protesters is their safety in the high traffic and accident area along Ohio 104.

Public Information Officer for CCI, Leta Pritchard said as far as she understood the protest is to be a peaceful demonstration and doesn't anticipate any difficulties.

Hurley said that the issues that Tigner raises may be valid but he believes he runs a good prison and affords inmates all the procedures available to them to voice any concerns they may have.

"I am fairly aware of what goes on at most times. I frequently walk the compound, meet with all incoming inmates, respond to mail addressed to me by inmates and leave time in my schedule for inmates who wish to meet with me in my office," Hurley said.

Pritchard said that the inmates at CCI are treated with respect and every effort is made to see to it they receive all the help they need.

"When inmates are brought in they are screened so that we can see what their needs are and if they need to be in a particular program," she said. When asked about the health practices, mail procedures and alleged abuse by guards Tigner said is common at both RCI and CCI, Hurley said the allegations were not valid and the prison is routinely inspected by the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, the Department of Health, local fire marshals as well as the American Correction Association.

The American Correction Association sends three independent members to conduct an audit of all procedures over a course of three days, which happened to begin last Wednesday. The Sunday demonstration will include marching with banners and bull horns and hearing messages from several guest speakers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tigner will speak on behalf of the Zanesville Hepatitis C Support Group.

Many times, Tigner said, as inmates are processed into the jail they are screened for HIV but are not tested for Hepatitis C, an incurable liver disease that is often seen in prisons.

Also scheduled to speak is Paula Eyre, from CURE Ohio and Sean Luse, from Students for Sensible Drug Policies.

"Our goal is to provide a backdrop that will reach as many people as possible about the truth behind the walls of prisons. Very often the media, either news broadcast or entertainment outlets, will show a very biased and untruthful depiction of life in prison.

Although, many prisoners use the prison system to their advantage, that is the exception not the rule." Tigner said. Tigner believes that the situations described in the letters she receives from inmates is more consistent with the truth.

In her own experience at a recent rally at the Franklin Pre-release Center in Columbus, Tigner said, many of the inmates were screaming from small windows about "no shoes" and "cold feet."

"These are human beings who made mistakes not animals. They will leave prison to work and live right beside us and if we treat them like animals when they are in prison then that is actually how they will act when they get out," she said.

Tigner added that, "the correction system we have now should be really looked at and I just want to provide the window."



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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens



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