50 signatures reached
To: Governor Kasich and The Corrections Corporation of America
End The Private Prison Industry in Ohio
In 2011 Ohio became the first state to conduct a sale of a prison to a private prison company. Years later, we are seeing the impact of Ohio's cruel experiment in private prisons all over the country. Shut down all Privatized Correctional institutions within the State of Ohio and immediately offer the people counseling for mental health, drug rehab and free job training with stipends.
Why is this important?
I started to visit the prison system back when you could take your own food and send your own clothing, shoes and books. I was a small child throwing up in the backseat of the car on those long drives.
I am 49 now and there's big money in the computer systems, the phone systems, food and clothing. Prisons equal dollars. I have spent so much money in this system over the years. The school to prison pipeline has vastly affected our Black community, acting as the engine of the machine, making it so that Black children grow up more prepared to live an incarcerated life than a free one. Black people are only 14% of this country’s population yet we are 46% of the prison population. I myself was raised by my grandmother who wasn't a very affectionate parent. My mother was known by seven prison numbers, my father spent his entire life in prison. My son has not seen his father since he was 3 months old, he turns 29 years old this month. His father has been incarcerated for 28 years and he has never killed anyone.
When I first launched this petition, the target was the federal government. I wanted to close all private prisons everywhere. But I knew I needed to start smaller. There has been no part of my life that hasn’t been impacted by the weight of mass incarceration. Ohio is the first state to conduct the sale of a state prison to privately owned prison company, thanks to Governor Kasich- who worked for Correction Companies of America before becoming governor. Ohio is the testing ground and now has the 6th largest prison population in the United States.
When prisoners mean dollar signs, human beings disappear. These are men, women and children who have been denied a chance to develop into their first job, who won't get a chance for a college education. For Black 18 to 29-year-olds, who make up 38% of the incarcerated population in America, in addition to spending their prime working years in a cage, some of will never develop a healthy relationship. Even when they come home they are in pain, conditioned by the threat of brutal beatings and rape while kept away from society. These are our family members who adapt to living in hell without proper food, sleep, water or even bathroom facilities and we expect them to come home and act like normal human beings. Milestones, memories, important life lessons are stolen. They will never be able to get that time back.
Private prison companies send lobbyists to DC and Columbus to pass strict and racist immigration and criminal justice policies that will ensure a profit. I think about people who have committed low-level and non-violent crimes are the best "employees" for this system because it's easier to manage them and they can make a greater profit. There is absolutely no investment in good staff or "rehabilitation." And imagine, these are the people who should not be in jail in the first place.
I do not think it is a coincidence that my search brought me home to Ohio- the first state and only state to sell a prison to a private prison company. Ohio is a laboratory where private prison policies are developed and replicated all across the country. It must stop here. Every dollar we’re spending in prisons are dollars we’re not spending on roads, on education, on social services that will actually raise people up. And so, we have to take a stand against the private prison industry, get people out of our prisons and start reinvesting in things that work.
Please make a difference and sign this petition.
I am 49 now and there's big money in the computer systems, the phone systems, food and clothing. Prisons equal dollars. I have spent so much money in this system over the years. The school to prison pipeline has vastly affected our Black community, acting as the engine of the machine, making it so that Black children grow up more prepared to live an incarcerated life than a free one. Black people are only 14% of this country’s population yet we are 46% of the prison population. I myself was raised by my grandmother who wasn't a very affectionate parent. My mother was known by seven prison numbers, my father spent his entire life in prison. My son has not seen his father since he was 3 months old, he turns 29 years old this month. His father has been incarcerated for 28 years and he has never killed anyone.
When I first launched this petition, the target was the federal government. I wanted to close all private prisons everywhere. But I knew I needed to start smaller. There has been no part of my life that hasn’t been impacted by the weight of mass incarceration. Ohio is the first state to conduct the sale of a state prison to privately owned prison company, thanks to Governor Kasich- who worked for Correction Companies of America before becoming governor. Ohio is the testing ground and now has the 6th largest prison population in the United States.
When prisoners mean dollar signs, human beings disappear. These are men, women and children who have been denied a chance to develop into their first job, who won't get a chance for a college education. For Black 18 to 29-year-olds, who make up 38% of the incarcerated population in America, in addition to spending their prime working years in a cage, some of will never develop a healthy relationship. Even when they come home they are in pain, conditioned by the threat of brutal beatings and rape while kept away from society. These are our family members who adapt to living in hell without proper food, sleep, water or even bathroom facilities and we expect them to come home and act like normal human beings. Milestones, memories, important life lessons are stolen. They will never be able to get that time back.
Private prison companies send lobbyists to DC and Columbus to pass strict and racist immigration and criminal justice policies that will ensure a profit. I think about people who have committed low-level and non-violent crimes are the best "employees" for this system because it's easier to manage them and they can make a greater profit. There is absolutely no investment in good staff or "rehabilitation." And imagine, these are the people who should not be in jail in the first place.
I do not think it is a coincidence that my search brought me home to Ohio- the first state and only state to sell a prison to a private prison company. Ohio is a laboratory where private prison policies are developed and replicated all across the country. It must stop here. Every dollar we’re spending in prisons are dollars we’re not spending on roads, on education, on social services that will actually raise people up. And so, we have to take a stand against the private prison industry, get people out of our prisons and start reinvesting in things that work.
Please make a difference and sign this petition.
How it will be delivered
I will partner with people in my community, petition signers and organizations to deliver the petition during a public press conference.