We are FADS -- Families Against Disparate Sentences, a family-of-prisoners oriented group working to bring CHANGES to how men and women in Ohio prisons can achieve equality in sentencing. Currently, Ohio has substantially unfair disparities between those sentenced prior to the enactment of SB 2, July 1, 1996, and those sentenced afterward. It is our mission to bring FAIRNESS to all.
ERICA BAKER, a relative of this site manager, is missing. Please click on the below link for information about her and a link to the Missing and Exploited Children Network site.
UPDATE -- JAN 13, 1999 -- In another defeat for prisoners litigating for equity in sentencing to SB 2 guidelines, the Ohio Supreme Court, using State v. Rush as its argument, today overturned appeals court decisions in Cuyahoga County that had allowed defendants convicted under pre-SB 2 statutes to serve time under SB 2 guidelines. Click below for link.
[Cite as STATE v RUSH(1998),__Ohio St.3d__.] -- OSCt denies any proposition that S.B 2 has any retroactive application under any section of old law or new law.
For the complete decision, go to the Ohio Supreme Court site, click on Opinions, click on 1998, scroll down to No. 97-1778, click and read.
Click here for Ohio Supreme Court site:
If the tactics of Ken Starr's prosecutorial team struck you as violative of guaranteed civil rights protection, and his nonchalant comments as to the "standard prosecutorial investigatory procedure" alarmed you, this series serves as an emergency flare in the darkness of our nation's current zealous pursuit of supposed wrongdoers in the War Against Crime that has been waging for over ten years. Read about the innocents wrongly prosecuted and imprisoned, all in the name of criminal justice. Just who are the real devils in this Faustian deliverance of our protected constitutional rights to the politically charged chambers of the prosecutor? Click here for link:
Contained under Section 2967.141(B)(2) of the O.R.C., part of Amended Substitute SB 111 (eff March 17, 1998), the language is clear: The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, through its division of parole and community services, may operate or contract for the operation of one or more violation sanction centers as an alternative residential facility....A violation sanction center operated under authority of this division may be used for either of the following purposes. (2)Service of a sanction that the Adult Parole Authority or Parole Board imposes upon a parolee whom the Authority determines to be a parole violator because of a violation of the terms and conditions of the parolee's parole or conditional pardon.
Click here to access the O.R.C.:
What this means is if a loved one of yours has been denied entry into a prison program because of physical limitations or mental health reasons, you have grounds for a legal suit against the state department of corrections for violating the ADA.
The hue and cry against crime and for more prisons must be subordinate to the demand for BETTER SCHOOLS with MORE FUNDING for BETTER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CHILDREN!! Let your legislator know what your priorities are. Tell them a vote for Parole Reform is a vote for A Better Future for Ohio's Children. Urge your local Congressional voice to sponsor this most important issue. UPDATE -- According to reliable sources, Sen. Louis Blessing will be introducing legislation for parole reform during 123rd Session. For info, contact his office.
Prisoners do not all support SB 149, believing it does not go far enough. While we share their beliefs, FADS must inform the reader that bill passing process is often long and tedious. Amendments that address many of the concerns of the prisoner's letter will be introduced for consideration. You, the reader, be you family member, friend or foe of prisoners' rights, should read both and decide which you believe will achieve the objective of bringing equity to sentencing and justice to the parole process in Ohio.
If this site is ever unavailable for viewing, FADS has a sister site at http://members.tripod.com/~ohfads/index.htm Information at both sites is ususally the same unless noted as otherwise.
Our plans include:
* Exploring legal remedies to correct the disparities.
* Writing letters to legislators for CHANGES in
the law.
* Gaining the right of "liberty interest" for prisoners eligible
for parole.
* Informing the public of the current practices of the Ohio
Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC)
including:
* Ohio Adult Parole Authority OAPA full discretionary powers.
* Guidelines in use without mandatory enforcement.
* Retaliating against prisoners who file grievances or who
stand up for their rights.
* Funding expenditures that are excessive and wasteful.
These are just a few of the topics that will be featured on these pages.
We welcome letters of support, "whistle blowing," or just "blowing off steam."
*Prisoners, your identity will always be kept confidential unless YOU request otherwise.
Family members -- it is time to come out of the shadows and to support your incarcerated Loved Ones.
Let's face it -- Ohio now has around 48,000 prisoners in the 31 minimum, medium, close, maximum, and super-maximum security prisons, correctional reception centers, and boot camps that litter the state's landscape. And the state keeps building MORE!!! If WE, the families of prisoners and prisoners alike, do not get involved, then CHANGES will never occur. Let's make things FAIR now!!