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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > May > 03 > Entry
Editorial: Strickland gives inmates too much rope
So much for the effort by top officials at the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the State Highway Patrol to spare Gov. Ted Strickland embarrassment.
The state’s independent watchdog released a 48-page report last week criticizing the head of the Department of Public Safety and the Patrol for nixing a criminal investigation that would have been routine but for the fact that it was to occur at the governor’s home.
The Patrol suspected that so-called “honor” inmates who work at the governor’s mansion were running a lucrative tobacco-smuggling operation. Since smoking has been outlawed in prisons, cigarettes are a hot commodity, with cigarette butts going for as much as $25 behind bars.
At the last minute, Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor, who oversees the Patrol, canceled the operation, according to the Office of the Inspector General, out of fear that the sting would make the governor look bad.
Director Collins-Taylor denies the conclusion, as does the head of the Highway Patrol, who says he called the whole thing off because he was worried about the safety of the governor, his wife and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn and his wife. The Glenns were going to be dining with the governor at the appointed time.
Even if the cancellation happened exactly the way Director Collins-Taylor and Patrol Superintendent David Dicken insist it did, the procedure was nuts. Director Collins-Taylor ordered law enforcement to go to the home of the woman scheduled to make the tobacco drop and tell her not to do so, warning that she would face arrest.
Inspector General Tom Charles didn’t find that Gov. Strickland or his top advisers had any role in stopping the sting. But the governor, a former prison psychologist, is implicitly criticized for insisting that inmates working at the mansion — a practice that dates back to the 1960s — have so much autonomy and freedom.
In an effort to show trust, reasonable precautions haven’t been taken. The inmates sometimes are supervised by maids; they have access to axes, chain saws and knives; they are allowed outside the mansion’s fenced area; they’re not required to wear clothes identifying them as inmates, and on and on the license goes.
Meanwhile, there are no clear rules about who’s responsible for the prisoners.
Prison officials don’t have supervisory authority (at the request of the governor and his wife); the Patrol, which is responsible for the governor’s security at and away from the mansion, isn’t in charge; and the Department of Administrative Services hasn’t taken responsibility, though it oversees the mansion.
If only for the sake of his neighbors — who are entitled to know that the inmates are under somebody’s watchful eye — Gov. Strickland can’t be so dismissive of the investigation or the criticism of his appointees.
“I don’t know that decisions were made to protect me from some kind of embarrassment,” he said. “If that occurred, it was certainly unnecessary. I believe that the actions were … undertaken in good faith with no nefarious or bad intent.”
He also needs to take responsibility for his own role in creating a climate that allowed prisoners to stash tobacco in his home and to think they could get by with picking up contraband on the street in broad daylight.
Finally, there’s the matter of Director Collins-Taylor, who hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate. Inspector General Charles accuses her of lying, hampering his investigation and of putting politics above police work.
Some people think Inspector General Charles is being too harsh. He’s a former state trooper, and the Patrol has been at war with the Strickland administration. In addition, his wife, Patrol Capt. Brigette Charles, is one of 11 people who interviewed for the Patrol superintendent’s post, but she did not get it.
Director Collins-Taylor is undoubtedly going to have a tough time before the Republican-controlled Senate. But when there’s a serious suspicion that she lied under oath, she should face brutal questioning.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Law Enforcement and Public Safety, Ohio government, Ohio politics
Comments
By Mike R
May 3, 2010 8:53 PM | Link to this
But when there’s a serious suspicion that she lied under oath, she should face brutal questioning.<< It’s pretty damn simple. If she lied under oath, like it appears, she needs to step down, and others will need to see if charges should be brought against her. Brutal questioning isn’t enough! In your blind effort to protect Strickland you failed to mention The report also accuses patrol Lt. Joseph Mannion, Strickland’s top personal security officer, of lying under oath and says Patrol Superintendent Col. David Dicken made unsubstantiated claims during the inspector general’s probe. And, the report said, public safety officials “went to extraordinary lengths” to obstruct attempts by the inspector general to obtain records. By the way, it was Strickland that re-appointed Charles in 2007, carrying him over from the previous administration. Strickland said Charles could be impartial. What is it with Teddy appointing all these incompetent low-lifes like Collins-Taylor and the Spy Queen Helen Jones-Kelley…They commit major crimes and Teddy always comes out says he “stands beside them” and he “believes that decisions were made by people acting in good faith.” Whew! Nothing like “acting in good faith!” Well, now that we know all these crimes happened by people acting “in good faith” to keep the Strickland Machine in office another 4 years I’m surprised the DDN hasn’t yet endorsed Teddy for one more term!