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!
WE at FADS encourage you to visit the Ohio Government site listed below so that you can stay familiar with what Ohio will post onto the Internet. Also, the Gongwer site has a direct link to the analyses and progress of all Senate and House bills introduced available for viewing and downloading. We would also encourage you to ask your legislators to obtain E-mail addresses so that messages can be left for convenience and the economics of saving on long distance calls. A "considerate" legislator should understand that.
CURE-OHIO's new web site is now available for access through this site. See below for the new link.
Apologies to all who come here seeking info and left disappointed. FADS has been enduring the process of relocating and reconnecting for several months. We shall be up soon with timely updates on any progress with SB 182, judicial decisions regarding pre-SB 2 sentences, and other prison-related issues. Please send us any accurate info that you have on these or other topics.
PLEASE Families inform your loved ones that FADS cannot serve as legal advisor to any prisoner. By sending us any litigation for display on the web, the prisoner does not ensure legal action on his behalf by FADS. We are not set up to perform this service. We are here to make the prisoner's voice available to the Net public and to inform families of legislative action on prison/prisoner issues.
Families -- Senate Bill 182 is here.
This is the bill, families and viewers. Read it, download it, print it, and mail it to your loved ones inside. Hopefully, in the near future FADS will be publishing ESPRA, the prisoners' version of Parole Reform. Check the front page for news of this coming article. Compare the two, then get onto your legislator to pass the bill most likely to succeed in this "hate the inmate" political climate. Your loved ones are counting on you. Don't you want them home with you?
Senate Bill 2 is now available through the Gongwer site.
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 Rehabilitations 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 our incarcerated Loved Ones.
Let's face it -- Ohio now has around 47,000 prisoners in the 29 minimum, medium, close, maximum, and super-maximum security prisons 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!!
WE are FADS. WE shall remain in force until the CHANGES we seek are Accomplished
To contact us by snailmail write to: FADS
Van Tenney & Ellen Caudill
2785 Coldsprings Drive
Beavercreek , Ohio 45434
EMAIL:vango@erinet.com.
Original articles submitted are published with a copyright waiver to aid in the free and unfettered distribution to the non-Internet public. We urge you, freeworlders, to post these articles on your community bulletin boards, and display them through any legal public forum.
*Prisoners, please indicate in writing if you want your identity made known. All requests for confidentiality will be strictly honored.
SUPPORT GROUPS, ADVOCATES, INFORMATION, and OTHER RESOURCES for PRISONERS and their FAMILIES
- CURE-Ohio
- State chaper of national prisoner's support group
- Ohio state Penal Oversite Committee
- Support group composed of ministers, lawyers, and other prisoner advocates
- 1998-1999 DRC Budget for Ohio
- Provides summation of goals, chart for projected expenditures, and list of services
- Columbus Dispatch Policy for email letters
- Provides email address and site map
- Prison Reform Links
- The usual sources of info, plus some not-so-usual ones
- Article by John Perotti
- Ohio's own nationally known prisoner/activist/author
- State Capitals Newsletters
- Provides info from state capitals on public safety and justice policies -- limited access, but ordering forms provided
- Prisons and Penal Matters
- Prisoner's Rights Group in Ottawa, Canada -- has good links to a variety of US prison sites
PRISONZONE
- Art. photos, poetry, prose, and other creative contributions about prison
Gongwer New Service -- OHIO
- Session laws introduced for consideration, and other legislative action. Updated weekly. Must-see sight for understanding the passage of bills in Ohio.
- Inmate Significant Others Support Homepage
- Poetry, essays, and heartfelt communications from prisoners' loved ones
- Family Corrections Network
- A US based Website about Families of Offenders
- Welcome to the Walls
- Families of Incarcerated Support Site
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections
- Info on Ohio prisons, parole board, Hire an Ex-Offender Program, and link to the Old State Reformatory, aka Mansfield. Recently added -- Offender Profile
- Columbus AlivewireD -- Alternative News for the Bold Minded
- Get the Straight Story Without Fear
- The Case of Kenneth Richey ADDED 10-3
- A More Detailed Account of A Mansfield Death Row Prisoner
- More On Kenny Richey From the UK Side ADDED 10-3
- British Press Links and Contacts for the Kennth Richey Campaign
- Death Penalty Page ADDED 10-3
- Links to JusticeNet And More
- PennPals ADDED 10-28
- Site Designed to Connect the Freeworlders to the Prisoners NEW & IMPORTANT to CHECK OUT
Getting Informed -- the First Step
FADS Introduction
- Brief description of the Disparities created by SB 2
- Steve Gumpl's Open Letter
- From the Man who took on the OAPA and Won!
- Case of Two Petty Burglars
- A not-so-hypothetical example of the Disparities created by SB 2
- Vonhoupe': FADS BAD LAD of the APA for August
- The personal account of an Ohio Prisoner's travail with the APA
- Charles Wampler essay
- The opinion of an Ohio Prisoner incarcerated since the age of sixteen
- Fox editorial
- Taking to task the unethical behavior of an Ohio representative
- Adequate Servings: Dining In at an Ohio Pen
- Prisoner Critque of the DRC Menu. This article has been removed at the request of the prisoners who wrote it because they fear retalitory action by prison officials. For a copy, email site manager.
Paul Jasper's "The Prisoner"
- Poem
- HB555: Sulzer's Slight of Hand
- Brief description of HB 555 and its potential effect on Prisoner Litigation
- CIIC Members
- Representatives and senators who sit on the CIIC
- Jake Speaks: A Prisoner's Challenge to Advocates
- Letter addressed to Ohio Advocate group
Runaway Parole Board
- Part I of Pearly Wilson's Series about the APA and its Mendacious Methods
- Rogues in the Courtrooms
- Part II of Pearly Wilson's Series about the APA and its Mendacious Methods
- Fear and Abhorrence: The Legacy of the APA
- Part III of Pearly Wilson's Series about the APA and its Mendacious Methods
- "S-O-L-I-D-A-R-I-T-Y" ELSE DIVIDED WE FALL
- Pearly Wilson Statement to Ohio Prisoners
Orient Correctional Institution Fire
- Botched Prison Behavior Modification Program Causes Inmate Protest
DEATH ROW CONCERNS
- Ohio Death Penalty
- A Section Devoted to Death Penalty Cases Specific to Ohio
- Death Row Riot at Mansfield
- Report about Mansfield Riot and Wilford Berry
PARTICULAR PRISON SITUTATIONS
- A Call for Outside Intervention New!!
- A Prisoner's Plea for Ohio Legislators and Citizens to Get Involved
- Conditions at the Orient Prison New!!
- Unacceptable, Maddening, and Deplorable
- A Prisoner's Request for Responsible Reporting New!!
- Tell the Truth about Truth-In-Sentencing
WOMEN PRISONERS
- Letter to the Editor New!!
- The Unfairness and Trickery of the Judicial System When Seeking Plea Bargains
- Battered Women New!!
- From Domestic Abuse to Institutional Abuse
- Hold the Politicians Accountable New!!
- Promises, Promises
- Headline News: Former TV News Reporter Displays Her Fear, Loathing, and Ignorance to Reading Public
- An Open Response to An Article in the Toledo Blade New!!
- Jailhouse Lawyer: Scourge of an Unjust System
- Another Scathing Indictment from the Chief Prosecutor of the Criminal Ant-Justice System -- Pearly Wilson
- An Eyewitness Account of the Event of the Mansfield Uprising Sept. 5 1997
- NOT What the ODRC Told You
- Four-to-Fifteen And Fighting For My Life ADDED 9-27
- Experienced Litigator Sounds Off About Use of Racial Criteria in Getting Parole
- Enslavement Emancipation Equity ADDED 9-27
- Establishing True Justice in Ohio
- Problems At Orient Prison ADDED 9-27
- Reprinted by permission of <I>Columbus Alive</I>
- Women Offenders And The Parole Board ADDED 9-27
- "Tired of the Charade"
- Save Us From the Purists ADDED 9-30 NEW!!
- An Open Personal Letter To Senator Jeffrey Johnson
- An Analysis Of Prisoner Release Data For The State Of Ohio ADDED 9-30 NEW!!
- Introduction to a Study that Alleges Quota System at Work in Ohio APA Decisions
- Introduction to the Study
- Background Information About the Purpose and Mission Statement of the APA
- Evaluation of Racial Data Pertaining To The Incarceration And Release Of Ohio Citizens
- Uses the DRC and APA Stats to Assemble Analytical Material
- Evidentiary Examination Of The Parole Board's Actions
- Includes Analysis of First Offender Retention, Career Criminal Releases, and the Recidivism Rate In Ohio
- Appendix To Data
- Clarifies the Author's Intent and Purpose For Conducting and Wanting Study Published
- An ANALYSIS OF PRISONER RELEASE DATA FOR THE STATE OF OHIO -- HTML FORMAT
- Study Conducted On Release Quotas In One Ohio Prison From 1991-1997
- Sam Sheppard's Walk Across Ohio And Results of Survey on Use of Death Penalty in Ohio
- Personal Account by Marianne Kruse-Blanchong and Ohio State U's Survey
- The Heart Of It All?
- Article Urging Ohio Legislators To Look To Her Neighbors' Prison and Parole Practices
- When They Won't Let You Do Right!
- Article Decrying the APA Manipulation of Sex Offender Programs
- Judge Denies Spirko New Trial
- John Spirko, Ohio Death Row Inmate, Denied New Trial Despite Prosecutorial Evidence In His Favor
- Committee Schedule for the Senate and House Criminal/Judiciary Committees
- For the Week of Oct 14, 1997 -- Check this one for bills under consideration, Families. Then go to Gongwer for bill detail.
- Correctional Institution Inspection Committee Staff Position Paper Part I NEW!!
- Addresses Parole Issues and Makes Recommendations to the APA
- Correctional Institution Inspection Committee Staff Position Paper Part II NEW!!
- Addresses Parole Issues In Relation to Senate Bill 2 Non-retroactivity
- Planned Executions For Various States NEW!!
- Details of Alan Bannister Protest In Missouri
- Press Release From Terrence W. Hattie
- Announcement of Litigation Against the APA for Alleged Retalitation ADDED 10-20
- FADS APA BAD LAD -- ADDED OCT 23
- Further Miscarriages of Justice in Ohio's Heartland
- The Case Of Timothy "Little Rock" Reed and the APA as Decided by the NM Supreme Court Pt One
- Shame, Shame on the APA for Breaking the Law
- The Case Of Timothy "Little Rock" Reed and the APA as Decided by the NM Supreme Court Pt Two
- Shame, Shame on the APA for Breaking the Law
- The Case Of Timothy "Little Rock" Reed and the APA as Decided by the NM Supreme Court Pt Three
- Shame, Shame on the APA for Breaking the Law
- Senate Bill 182 -- Parole Reform Bill -- ADDED 11-1
- Senators Jeffrey Johnson and Mike Shoemaker Co-Sponsorers of the Most Politically Palatable Hope We Have for Parole Reform
- Open Letter to Sen Jeff Johnson About SB182 and ESPRA ADDED 11-12
- What Prisoner's Want In A Parole Reform Bill
- Where Is Keith Lamar and Whatever Happened to Human Rights In America? ADDED 11-9
- Follow-up to Mansfield DR Uprising of Sept 5
- George Skatzes Personal Experience During the Mansfield Death Row Uprising Sept 5 1997
- Further Eyewitness Account of Unnecessary Guard Brutality Against NonResisting Prisoners
- The Ohio Welfare Preservation and Crime Perpetuation Act of 1997 or SB 111 Unveiled -- ADDED 11-25
- A Survey of O.R.C. 5120.56 and O.R.C. 5145.16
- QUI TAM Law Suit Against State Officials -- Voinoviches, Atty Gen Montgomery, DRC director, et al.,
- Civil litigation charging state officials with corruption and fraud
- Law Suit Against State Officials -- Voinoviches, Atty Gen Montgomery, DRC director, et al.,
- Relief sought by the author of the QUI TAM
- On Politics and Justice or The Prostitution of Lady Justice
- One prisoner's opinion of Sen. J. Johnson's SB 182
- Statement of Intent to Fast to Protest Disparities in Sentencing
- The Bottom Line -- No Justice, No Eat
- Death Penalty Update -- The Slaughter Continues
- Article About the Frequency of Executions in the U.S.
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Ellen Caudill & Van Tenney
vango@erinet.com