Posted by dontsaythat (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Could not agree more.... It appears that the youth prison is like a camping trip, a vacation away from home... No wonder there is so many repeat offenders... My son was in the local group home for defending his mother/sister when someone assaulted us in our car several years ago.. He stated it was a horrible place to be,never once has he gotten into troulbe with the law since.... He stated that the only time they came out of their room was to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner, clean up.... May be the youth prison's need to be like the "Group Home"....
Prayers are with the family for the loss of Husband/Dad/Son...

Posted by dysatisfied (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

God Bless you! DYS employees could not have said it any better- well we have- its just no one has been listening. Invite the KY Children Center and Fred Cohen to work 8 hours or a mandated 16 hours and see if they still consider them children.

Posted by andyd (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 8:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Billy Bruce! If either rag...The Columbus Dispatch or The Cleveland Plain Dealer had your balls this situation could be different.

Posted by tjjackson (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 10:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

as someone "in the know" I can tell you that Fred Cohen is a crook. Ask how much DYS has paid him since he and his cronies have leached on to the system. The system is more dangerous than ever. These "youth" are sometimes 6'2 and 250 pounds. They are immature and worse than an adult inmate. I am not advocating abuse, but a JCO's (or now they want to call them "youth counselors") is held with lower regard than those who are felons. What is wrong with this picture? Something drastic like this happens, then something drastic needs to change. My sympathies to the Hesson family. Get a good attorney and include Cohen in the lawsuit.

Posted by tthgam09 (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 10:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The very sad thing is that we have been telling the higher up that the way that they want to run DYS isn't working and that it would take someone to get killed before they will wake up. Well the SAD thing is it has happen and the higher ups are trying to "White Wash" things. Maybe all of the higher ups needs to work in our shoes without telling any of the inmates "youths" who they are. I'll bet there will be takers on that one.

God bless the Hesson family and his kids.

Posted by fredweasely (anonymous) on May 6, 2009 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

AMEN!!! The only thing Fred Cohen was right about was that we were chronically understaffed. Work 16 hrs a day 3-5 days in a row and see how sympathetic you are. These youth need and frequently want boundaries and dys has taken them away. Grope a female staff, Get a white jumpsuit so all your buddies Know you did it. Trash a classroom and get locked up for a couple hours (maybe).ACCUMULATE OVER 300 ASSAULTS ON STAFF AND FINALLY GET A BINDOVER HEARING... AND A DYS PSYCHOLOGIST WILL TESTIFY THAT YOUR "ON A NEW PLAN AND DOING MUCH BETTER"... AND NOW THAT THE BINDOVER IS DROPPED YOU CAN BECOME EVEN MORE FAMOUS BY SHOVING A FEMALE JCO INTO A CELL WITH YOUR BUDDY, STABBING HER REPEATEDLY WITH A PEN AND BEATING THE TAR OUT OF HER! OR YOU COULD GET YOUR MAXIMUM CLASSIFICATION OVERIDDEN, GET TRANSFERED TO AN OPEN BAY MEDIUM INSTITUTION, FIND A DECORATED COMBAT VETERAN WHO SAW ACTION IN 4 DIFFERENT CONFLICTS, BEAT HIM TO DEATH, AND BE OUT ON THE UNIT THE NEXT DAY!!! Congratulations boys, now you both get to be in "the heartless felons". don't forget to send a check to central office

Posted by OLDad (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 12:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

no matter how old, if they were locked up 23 out of 24 hrs a day maybe next time they would think before they commit a crime. its sad that a hard working man trying to support his family had to lose his life. they are criminals for Gods sake, they need to be treated like criminals and quit having a vacation. thoughts and prayers are with the family

Posted by Dad (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 12:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Fred Cohen is not only a crook; he is an idiot that has no idea how to run a prison. When challenged by an officer to show us how to do our job, he stated there is know way I could do your job. But he sure likes to tell us what we can’t do. If you question his methods you will be disciplined. There was a new officer that was fresh out of the military that questioned why it was wrong to make a “youth” check his hands behind his back, like parade rest. He was terminated. The others in his class were told not to question Mr. Cohen. If Mr. Cohen is asked a questioned he does not know the answer to he accuses you of just trying to be difficult and stomps out of the room. Fred Cohan, Tom Stickrath, Ted Strictland need to be named personally in a lawsuit by JCO Hesson’s family. They should have to testify why they have let DYS become so dangerous.

He operates under the disguise that he is concerned about the quality of life for the youth incarcerated in DYS. So we have been following his policies for a while now, is it any safer? Well let’s see gang activity at an all time high, Youth on youth violence at an all time high, Youth on staff violence at an all time high. I think Mr. Cohen needs to give the state back the money he has swindled them out of and the state needs to start running their facility like correctional facilities instead of training grounds for gang members.

Employees at Ohio River Valley Juvenile Correctional Facility held an informational picket; they have been telling people that something bad was going to happen. But no one wanted to listen.

Posted by cavs23 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 12:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Mr. Bruce, I am speaking for myself but I'm sure that my fellow JCO's will be in agreement. I am one of the officers assaulted by our DYS "Youth". I am one of many.
When I heard about JCO Hesson all I could do was think of his family. I cried for a wife,children, and for all JCO's who just lost an important member of their family.
I took this job to make a difference, if it was only 1 young man out of 200 it was worth it.
I expected to be working in a environment that would hold the youth and employees accoutable for their actions. A environment where Administration upheld their staff and helped them to grow . I found inconsistency of expectations for the youth and employees, youth being able to manipulate Administration in letting them into programs they do not qualify for because of their aggressive behavior. This putting not only the staff but other youth in danger of being assaulted and preventing the treatment that needs to happen with the other youth that have worked and have made the commitment to learn how to make better decisions.
Mr. Cohen visited my facility many times. I wonder what he would think if he was assaulted by one of our "Youth" he considers frail and misunderstood? I wonder if he would have time to use verbal strategies before he was assaulted by a youth because he was single staffed with 48 youth and was trying to follow the unit expectations after Administration just came in and only told the youth they didn't have to follow the rule anymore leaving Mr. Cohen out of the loop. What would be his answer to his supervisor when he was questioned as to why he (Mr. Cohen) intentionally initated the incident?
Would he want his wife to have to wait weeks maybe months while DYS investigates the "incident". While the youth is able to be out and have regular programming because we don't want to hinder any of the youth's rights. My prayers are with Mrs. Hesson, every JCO, and all DYS staff. Thank you again for being the voice for every DYS employee.

Posted by Furnace1 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Billy Bruce for printing the truth. There are some powerful people covering this one up. The sad things is some of Governor Ted Stricklands own relatives work for DYS. He has to know what Tom Stickrath and Fred Cohen are doing. Why is the Governor leaving Tom Stickrath in charge? How many more staff have to die? All the dangerous kids in DYS are getting dumped in other facilities because of Marion closing. The most serious criminals will be dumped in Scioto county. This could happen here! Is it going to take another death before something is done to fix DYS? Strickland needs to take action. This can't be allowed to continue. Anyone who has worked for DYS any length of time has seen it go down hill since Tom Stickrath was put in charge. Things are very dangerous now. Governor Strickland I ask that you please do something about it. Peoples lives are depending on you!

Posted by demanding_change (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 8:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Mr. Bruce. I sent this information to the Portsmouth Daily Times with no response to it. Its Corrections Week and we had to bury one of ours. If you know anyone that works in the adult system, ask them what we are sending them? They don't know what to do with the youth that are being bound over or recommitting and being sent the the adult system. Google "heartless felons" and see what disturbances they are causing in DRC. God bless the Hesson family. Stay safe out there!

Posted by DYSKILLS (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hope the people in Columbus can read this. Please do everything you can to make sure Governor Strickland is NOT re-elected. DYS Director Tom Stickrath needs to step down immediately, and let someone who can do the job take over. We cannot bow down to Fred Cohen and his group. Look where it has gotten us! Someone has died, and people will continue to die at the hands of these thugs if we don't take charge of DYS right now. Locking these people down for 24 hours doesn't stop them from assaulting staff. The youth run DYS right now---this needs to stop. How many people need to die before changes are made? Wait till Marion closes and all the rapists and murderers are spread out to the other institutions that cannot handle them.

Let's hold the people in Columbus accountable...starting now.

Posted by no1transman (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 8:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

well its about time we do somthing about the prison systems in america and i dont mean build more . lets empty some out .start with all death row .every 1 on death row for 20yrs plus should die . this week ,21 next month 22 month after som on so on .if you dont belive in the death penalty you should all be taxed 10k a year to feed and house these criminals .i have been in jails and prison and do not feel its right to have to watch my back all the time .tougher laws is what we need the ordinary law breaker shouldnt have to worry a bout getting killed or raped or beat while in the custody of the state.ive been in 4 child support before and was locked up with murders rapist and hiv pos.people. if all these criminals have rights then wheres mine i have the right to do my time without fear of being hurt or getting hiv .because of not paying support.you take an ordinary person and ruin his life . all in the name of justice bull ---- .now most hate socitity and every one in volved. the system isnt fair. niether are laws. so i say put to death those who have been deemed, and maybe criminals mite fear dying ,instead of living life out in prison, with tv radio cable college classes free medical dental hell sounds like a retirement home better, its a prison you are,condemed a criminal , lets give them sometihng to fear. thats what its supposed to be,i honestly belive there are flaws in the system and we mite get a few good people by mistake but we will get a lot alot of bad ones who i feel deserve to be put to death.

Posted by Tfranklin2121 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Bruce! This is accurate! You are right, the only thing that separates the staff from the "youth" are the uniforms. The State gives too much to the criminals. They have LCD HD TV's, a video library, X-box 360's etc. In Marion Jeff Rollins took the "youth" in BLDG 2 (the lock down units) and took them into the mini gym and gave them BW3 wings for their Good behavior. This is our Chid Advocates at work! this is why we can't get anything done! One of Stricklands finest!

Posted by teacher2 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Bruce, thank you so much for helping share our plight with the public! Govenor Strickland, Mr. Stickrath and Mr. Cohen have no clue who we, the employees, are dealing with everyday nor do they keep up with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency trends in juvenile crime. The crimes committed by these youth are becoming more and more violent each year which should lead us in DYS to become more cautious and strick. Instead, we are forced to let the criminals do as they please to keep from infringing upon their rights. In my opinion, they lost their rights when they commited a crime so let them deal with it!
As a general rule, my students think of no one but themselves, seriously lack any impulse control and are only marking time til they are back on the streets or as many have told me will go on to the adult system.
I am terribly upset that a JCO died at the hands of one of these youth but sadly not suprised. I lay all the blame on the govenor, director and the Cohen group for not standing up and supporting us who work with the viscious criminals.

Posted by madjco (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 8:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

THANK YOU, FINALLY SOMEONE WITH SOME BALLS AND NOT A STATE EMPLOYEE, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE A JOB NOW, JCO'S ARE GETTING THERE ASS KICKED AND DON'T GET IT TO BAD BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY HAVE SO MANY HOURS OFF THE WHOLE TIME YOU WORK FOR DYS, DON'T DEFEND YOUR SELF THAN YOU'LL BE UNEMPLOYED, I'M NOT IN TO BEATING KIDS, BUT IM ALSO NOT INTO GETTING MY ASS BEAT OR TITS GRABBED,SPIT ON.S'\T THROWN ON ME EITHER, IT'S NOT ONLY A BOYS CLUB BUT GIRLS CLUB TO, LET NOT FORGET THEY HAVE A NICE SIZE SWIMMING POOL. ONE OF THE OFFICERS AT THE GIRLS CLUB IS OFF NOW BECAUSE OF A YOUTH THROWING A HOT CUP OF NODDLES IN HER FACE,RIGHT OUT OF THE MICROWWAVE. SHE HAS 1ST DEGREE BURNS INSIDE HER EYEBALL,THIS YOUTH JUST GOT BACK FROM COURT GETTING 6 MONTHS FOR ASSULTING THE SAME OFFICER, NOW THIS YOUTH WILL ONLY DO THE TIME IF THEY CAN'T FIND A PLACE FOR HER TO GO. I FOUND ONE MARYSVILLE,SHE HAS ASSULTED MANY OTHER OFFICERS IN THE PAST. BUT SHE IS MISS UNDERSTOOD,DAMN RIGHT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE FEELS THE NEED 2 ATTACK EVERYONE SHE DON'T LIKE OR WHO TELLS HER NO,MAYBE SINCE MR COHEN AND MR.STICKRATH ARE SO WELL WITH MANAGEING BEHAVIOR THEY COULD START WITH HER SHE NEEDS PLACEMENT. ON JUST WAIT TILL U SEE THE NEW BEHAVIOR SYSTEM. REWARDING THEM YES THEY CAN KICK YOUR ASS ONE DAY AND THE NEXT THEY CAN HAVE POP CORN AND A MOVIE. THE GOV NEEDS TO FLASH BACK LIKE MOST OF THESE GIRLS CLAIM TO BE DOING OH WHAT UNION BACKED YOU MOST OF THEM BEING CO, JCO AND NOW BECAUSE OF U AND YOU BOYS ONE IS DEAD AND WHERE YOUR BACK BONE IN BACKING UP THEM, HOPE THAT THE GOV, COHEN,DIRECTOR HAVE A HARD TIME SLEEPING AT NIGHT.

Posted by flyrod (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 9:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mr. Bruce,
Very well said sir. I agree with the others that Mr.Stickrath should do the right thing and step down. Mr. Cohen , well I can not say what he should do. DYS was a great place to work years ago. I loved going to work everyday. Then came fred cohen, the childrens law center out of Covington, Ky, and others. They knew it all, and they told us so because of our elected and appointed officials did not have the guts to say no to them. Across the border in Indiana they are doing great with dealing with youthful offenders. They use pepper spray instead of the JCO's restraining the inmate and causing the inmate and the JCO to be injured. As soon after the inmate is sprayed he is cuffed and taken to the shower to rinse off. I and many others would have not been injured multiple times( I have had several injuries requiring surgery to fix) if pepper spray was in use. Many would argue that JCO's would be to quick to spray an inmate or spray an inmate when it was not needed. Well you deal with that person as an individual, instead of keeping a very useful tool from other good Officers.
Another thing I have always wondered about. Why is the Workmen's Comp rate for ODYS double that of the adult system ? You would think that with many times more employee's and inmate's the adult system would have more injuries. Maybe it is the fact that the adult system has consequences for the inmate's that curb the inmates desire to act out and assault other inmates and staff. If an inmate in the adult system grabs a female staff it is off to the hole for him. No questions, off to the hole.
To Officer Hesson's wife and children, my prayer's are with you. I am so sorry your husband died because of our elected and appointed official's did not have the guts to stand up against cohen and other's.

Posted by MADDOG2020 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wonder if the flag is lowered at the state capital or is that to much to ask. Would it be lowered if he would of been a state highway patrol officer killed in the line of duty? If he would of been a law enforcement officer the story would of been all over the news throughout the state as well as the tri-state area. Why are correctional officers treated as second rate citizens in the criminal justice field? The police take the criminals off the streets and give them to us to handle on a daily basis. Who's job is tougher? They get guns and respect and we get "s--t" upon.

Posted by MADDOG2020 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We must get back into uniforms that resemble correctional officers. If we do I'll be the first to send my best buy uniform to that guy who calls himself a man.

Posted by rosibud4 (anonymous) on May 7, 2009 at 11:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Amen. Somebody has the guts to tell the truth. Thank you Mr. Bruce for giving your readers a better understanding of what is going on in DYS, and why.. It is refreshing to read an honest news article.
An officer dies and all the State wants to do is sweep it under a rug.. Shame on those in high places...
I wonder if we will ever hear the truth as to why MaJCF is being closed? Nah, the Child Advocates desire to keep that swept under the rug too..Just another day in DYS.
I might miss having a paycheck - but I will not miss working for DYS...I think I have had enough.June 6th cannot come quick enough now.
God bless those with the guts to tell the truth!

Posted by madjco (anonymous) on May 8, 2009 at 5:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

oh yea keep it coming please don't let this man's death be in vain, my prayers to his family, but they need answers and so do we. please don't stop

Posted by dysfam (anonymous) on May 8, 2009 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you Mr. Bruce for making these points public. We have some good comments here. These are not your average "kids" they are dangerous convicted felons but Stickrath and Cohen have tried to turn it into a warm and fuzzy kiddy camp. And we all knew this would happen sooner or later because thanks to the aforementioned there is no consequences for these criminals actions within the facility. The inmates have more rights than the employees. These inmates abuse the employees constantly and nothing is allowed to be done about it. No one should have to work under these conditions and to top it all off they get fired over minor things that admin. want to call abuse.

This all started before Strickland was elected and he probably only knows what the director wants him to know. (regarding Furnace1's comment... the Gov. also does not know that his relative is about to receive 2 of the youth involved in the William Hesson incident.) The best thing Strickland could do is remove Stickrath and revamp the whole program before it gets worse.

Posted by JeffTruth (anonymous) on May 8, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I work for DYS and have seen the pendulum swing too far to the 'hands off, all harm no foul" zone. We have had 240 staff injuried in the past year, compared to 22 youth. This present model needs scrapped and to go back to a working system. New rear-view mirror on this Yugo will not help. The widow of JCO Hesson and his children need us, and we will be there. We will not forget him or his tragic end, nor will we let the powers that be sweep another under the rug.

Posted by helpus (anonymous) on May 8, 2009 at 9:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Everyday I go to work I wonder if I will be coming home by way of my own personal vechicle or by an emergency vechicle. A typical day in DYS is like none other. Everyday you are confronted with some type of violence. There are several fights daily among the youth fighting for power and status in the gangs. Verbal sexual comments from the youth that would make a sailor turn red. Physical touching by the youth in a sexual manner. Assaults on staff both verbal and physical. Urine, feces, blood, and spit thrown at you. All this happens daily. When you try to follow the policy as it is written, nothing happens to these youth that deters these behaviors displayed. I called the prosecutor office and they say it is only a misdemeanor and not worth the time, because we can give them more time on the books than the court could. That would be fine if the youth didn’t have juvenile life or so much time from other incidents. These youth know this, that’s why they keep doing what they do. I’m sure DYS will tell the public other wise, but take it from someone who has been with the department for 13 years. There was a time you felt like you were helping, and had time to sit with the youth to discuss problems they were having. We had a good rapport with them. They should you respect. Now you are so busy putting out all the “fires” you don’t have time. They have been aloud to do pretty much what they want and intimidate the new staff to the point of running them off. Now instead of the gray uniforms, DYS thought they were to intimidating so the new uniforms are Light blue shirts with khaki pants. You can’t tell now who is in maintenance or who works a unit. When you try to say something or speak out the answer you get is, “if you don’t like it find another job”. We are professionals, we choose to work here. We do a service to our communities by making them a safer place to live. We truly are the “Forgotten Cop” All we want is respect. When one of our own dies we as well as the family of Officer Hesson and the communities across the state need to know why? You and I pay taxes. Our tax payer dollars are going to the corrupt running our DYS system and making decisions that put innocence people in harms way. While Fred Cohen, The Children’s Law Center, Thomas Stichrath, Gov. Strickland all need to be held accountable. Anyone at central office should face the wrath of Officer Hesson’s family. When one of us does something wrong we get fired or days in the street. When an administrator does something wrong they go from making $38 dollars and hour to $34. They call that a demotion. When I go to work I wonder if anyone out there really cares, thank you for posting this article. Now I know someone is listening and for that I am grateful.

Posted by enraged69 (anonymous) on May 9, 2009 at 2:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I feel so sorry for our friends and family that work for the Ohio Department of Youth Services! With the dramatic cuts the state is making and closing at least two facilities, this means that they are going to be more over crowded and just like any other situation like this short fuses will be even shorter!

Posted by JC_O_NO (anonymous) on May 9, 2009 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why is it that when strickrath visited our "facility" friday there were many printed articles about this topic every where, front entrance, visitation, on the units for the jco's. That every where he went these readings just disappeared, or we were told by the superintendent to get rid of it. WHY! the truth needs to come out, whenever he came across one of the articles, he quickly tucked his tail and moved on. We can no longer afford to baby these prisoners, in our recent training it was brought up that a "youth" can walk up to you punch you in the face and all he/she has to do is turn around put his hands up and walk away, and we can't touch them, we have to use our verbal command, thats if our jaw isn't broke. It was told to us JCO's that if it happened to a police officer they would react the same, B/S. Everyone reading this knows if you punch a cop any cop your ass is getting handed to you by either a night stick or a taser. These youth we are dealing with have no sympathy, no remorse for whatever they do, I don't blame this on rap, movies, video games, or whatever some research group is getting paid way to much to say, I blame this S**T on society, I know when I was growing up if you got arrested or brought home by the police, my least fear was what the cops were goin to do, parents had control and would beat the tar out of you, parents, not all but most have no idea what they're doin what they're child is doin. I get critisized all the time about how strict I am with my daughter, and after starting with DYS, it has only made me more strict. We need to put some of the resposibilty back on the parents, give them court orders to see their child in prison. This administration needs to do less of a job correcting/dissaplining good officer's who don't take crap off these kids, and look at the ones who let the youth walk all over them, bring in food and candy so their shift might be a litle easier is just setting the next shift up for failure, we have Unit Managers who give the worst group at our facility pop and popcorn, not for good behavior toward, but to bribe them and thats what they have grown to expect, when they don't get it they act out, and when us (as jco's) try to take it away as a disipline, they get it back usually before our shift is up, now who has the power on the groups, not the JCO's, we're the frontline in this battle everyday, and everyday we stepped on or over by youth and administration, we're always being told how to do this job by someone who reads a book, sitting in a comfy leather chair down in central office, I challenge anyone of them to pull back to back to back 16 hour shifts dealing with these "misunderstood" youth in DYS boys or girls. My heart pours out to the Hesson family, and can't imagine what it must be like to have this happen and dys treat it like it never happened. I like being a jco, but not enough to die for it. Things need to change!

Posted by holtzd (anonymous) on May 10, 2009 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Let me start off by saying that if this were to happen at an adult institution, more action would have been taken. I worked at SOCF for a few years, and experienced many staff memebers being beaten and one woman even killed. Now, I'm not saying that justice was served, however in the end the inmates ultimately recieved their punishment one way or another, it was just a matter of time. As for the youth system, it appears to me to be a kiddy camp. These 'youth' recieve the best treatment. They have the latest and greatest electronic entertainment devices such as Nintendo DS's, they get to watch DVD's, they get to have breakfast in bed, and they even have a stress room with a massage chair and such. Now, doesn't something seem screwey about that? I would love for someone to explain what kind of stress these punks can be experiencing. Do they have to be worried about making a house payment, making sure there is enough gas in their car to make it to work, worry about being able to put food on the table for their families, or being turned into collections for not being able to pay their bills? NO, so someone please fill me in on what real stress they can possibly be having? This is utter bullsh*t. Really, they need to treat them like what they are-INMATES. They have committed violent felonies and yet they are being treated like misfortuned little beings. They should have to endure the consequences of their actions, I know when I was a kid if I stepped out of line I got my rear end busted. And I turned out just fine! I don't know why the state wastes the ink when printing 'rehabilitation' on forms because their is absolutely no rehabilitation in the system, if their was 80% of these 'youths' would not reoffend. Could it be that they see the correctional facility as a wonderful alternative to actually living out in the real world? Yup, of course. I really shouldn't even be calling it a correctional facility because they are not corrected for their wrong doings. What's wrong with the 'lock and feed' method? To my recollection things ran alot smoother when that was in practice. Not to mention the tax payers dollars that would be saved. Cut out all the bull, such as the extras that the normal citizen cannot afford, these ingrates don't need all the toys. Maybe central office will pull their heads out of their a**es one of these days, hopefully before another officer is brutally murdered! (continued)

Posted by holtzd (anonymous) on May 10, 2009 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(continued) As for Cohen, Stricklad, and Stickrath-May God have mercy on their souls. I know I sure as hell would not want this death on my shoulders. I don't see how they sleep at night. I think they should be convicted just as the punks that physically did the killing.
This will happen again if nothing is changed. How can it not? Staff is being mandated for 16 hour shifts multiple times a week. It's a known fact that no person can be sharp after working that many hours. Not to mention the number of assaults that are taking place against officers and they are not even entitled to defend theirselves. And the last time I checked being a 40 hour a week punching bag to some young criminal was not considered a healthy occupation. I say a prayer every night that my significant other makes it home in one peice! And that's the states fault....
As for the Hesson famly, you are in everyone's thoughts and prayers. May you all find courage and peace throughout this ordeal.
And to all the JCO's....you all deserve a medal of honor! Society does not realize what you do each and everyday. God bless you all! Keep eachother safe!

Posted by familydad (anonymous) on May 10, 2009 at 11:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What upsets me the most, and maybe because I can relate to being a veteran of the armed forces is that Mr Hesson was a decorated war veteran, serving as an Army Ranger in recent Persian Gulf Conflicts. This man, by virtue, endured sacrifices for his country that Strickland, Stickrath, Cohen, and a lot of other people could only imagine accomplishing. Where were these 3 individuals during the Nam? Ranger Hesson stepped up and answered the call of duty to his country and he did not desrve to go out of this world the way he did. He was cheated out of a hero's death on the battlefield to die at the hands of an inmate, and for what? Mr Hesson honorably served his country and probably gave it up to work a less dangerous job that allowed him to be more of a family man to his wife and children. The Gov and DYS let this man down and costed him his life, due to their proven soft approach on crime and criminals with in our society and our institutions. Juvenile offenders have been released in record numbers over the last few years in an attempt to make the public believe juvenile crime is on the decline, justifying the recent closing of two DYS facilities. This will all ultimately lead to more violent crimes and senseless deaths and other tragic crimes toward the law abiding citizens of our state. I will continue to pray for the Hesson family and hope that the Gov and some of the good hearted people running DYS will make every effort possible to do the right thing in the future and somehow, not let Mr Hesson's murder be for nothing. The Gov should take full responsibility for the brutal murder that took place against an officer with in his prison walls. Take responsibility, show some leadership, and prevent this from happening again. As stated earlier, Mr Hesson was an Army Ranger and that being said, I am confident he was a good leader in a functioning, successful environment/organization, with a clear direction and attainable goals. The Gov needs to stand up and get DYS pointed in the right direction again, by implementing stricter guidlines and letting the law abiding citizens of Ohio know that their lives are valuable above convicted felons, youth or adult. We all know that the bottom line to this is that it is all political, and that is the bottom line. -God Bless You All

Posted by wigfur (anonymous) on May 11, 2009 at 12:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All the comments on this page are right on! To add to this, the youth know how to play the system better than adults can imagine. If these kids don't get their way, they have been known to make false alegations against staff to have them under investigation and possbily falsly arrested. What happens when they are found to have made the false alegation? Nothing, a "don't do it again." I am a JCO in a DYS facility, and I have been called every name under the sun and threatened many times. I have even been assaulted a few times. What happened to the youth that assaulted me? Not a thing. They got a couple hours in seclusion and back out to continue their ways. What are we teaching the youth? Do something wrong and nothing happens. I see the same youth over and over again. What does it tell you when you see the same youth time and time again? The system doesn't work. It's sick to see these youth get pleasure out of being assaultive and destructive. I wonder how many more JCOs are going to have to be seriously injurded or worse, killed before things change. In Indiana, Pepper Spray and other tactics are used to deescalate violent youth. All I have is my voice and hands...God forbid I use them.

I hope Mr. Hesson didn't die in vain. May God be with his family.

Posted by griffin1 (anonymous) on May 12, 2009 at 1:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You are dead right about your article except one aspect. You state if a youth assaults another that he gets isolated for a month. The truth is isolation is for only 3 hours. Yeah that isn't a joke but the complete truth. 3 hours

Posted by mob212738 (anonymous) on May 12, 2009 at 1:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ive been to dys 4 times the hills the river n mohican
its sorry to hear about this but if you guys locked us up 23 hrs a day for that 1 hr we come out nobody will go back in and it will just make it worse,
plus for the fact that it is an open dorm just like mohican
hmmm... what can you do?
8 iso boxes....
u figure it out

Posted by buckeye456 (anonymous) on May 13, 2009 at 6:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mr.Bruce is telling the truth I work at Ohio River Valley and have witnessed on numerous occaisions youth assault staff and the punishment go in their room for an hour.Parents routinely punish their children more than Tom(clueless)Stickrath allows to be used on these convicted felons.Parents can ground their kids or make them stay in their room for the day.If we do that D.Y.S. and Fred (the crook ) Cohen say it is cruel.The public better wake up and tell governor Strickland they want Stickrath gone and things changed at the D.Y.S.
Right now D.Y.S. is creating monsters that have now fear of authority or the legal system.They think there is no consequences for their actions and soon you may be face to face with one of these monsters.Our only tool to defend ourselves or the youths who don't cause trouble is physical force.They refuse to allow officers to carry pepper spray like almost all other states and then complain when youth get hurt while being physically restrained.The D.Y.S. administration has no idea what they are doing.I urge you to write the governor and voice your opinion for the safety of yourself and more importantly your children.The monsters are coming!!!!!!

Posted by concernedforall (anonymous) on May 15, 2009 at 3:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

First of all, thank you Billy Bruce for not being afraid of the 'system' and all that uphold this one. You know, I really feel sorry for the parents of the juvenile inmates. Some must really feel their 'youth'-- even though doing very victious and 'adult' characterized evil ( such as drug dealing, gang involvement, rape, robbery, murder to mention a few ) are innocent. To the point of excuses for their 'childern' --- which only enables them to feel empowered to do more wrongs and definitely teaches manipulation. What sorry crap that is -- no wonder ALL JCO's are extremely concerned for their safety!! And these are the very same JCO's that render such fantastic and compassionate care to these felonious juveniles --- because the JCO wants to really make a difference in these 'youths' life!!!!! Do these parents remember that the JCO's PROTECT these juveniles from themselves as well as others, even putting themselves in grave danger for these so called 'youths'?????
How can Officer Hessons death be accidental when several sources state that the coroner ( as well as the doctors at the hospital ) state there were multiple blunt force traumas to his head??? When did Officer Hesson call for help?? Where was his partner?? When was he found dying?? When was 911 called?? When did the paramedics get there?? It is absolutely incredulous how the State is treating one of its very own!!!
This verbal skill therapy can sometimes be useful, I agree. However, only if adolescents have been taught the significance of the skill and the impact it has on the adolescent if followed --- which requires therapy --- and I mean alot of it.
How many of these felony youth per JCO??? I mean, what is the REAL ratio being used in these facilies?? Anybody care??
What about those cameras???? Why are they not of GREAT significance to a speedy resolution to Highland Hills? You would think that the youth advocacy groups would be screaming for action quickly to remove possible killer/killers from other " impressionable young adolescents "! Maybe that is where someone should quickly look!!!!!!!
I agree with you Mr. Bruce --- if any good comes of this it will be that not one 'youth' with any conscience and possibility of being helped to recovery over whatever their problems are, would ever want to be in a juvenile correction center, and most importantly for now ---- that our officers are protected, that no one else has to die.
I pray for the sake of safety and goodness that we will soon find out what really happened to that poor officer.
Thank you for allowing me to comment.

Posted by concernedforall (anonymous) on May 15, 2009 at 3:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Me again --- sorry. Wanted to clear up the comment I made about verbal skill therapy. This therapy only works like I stated above and ONLY if the juvenile wants it to work --- in other words --- ONLY if that particular juvenile wants to REALLY change. And this only happens over much, much time ---- time our JCO's do not have, as Officer Hesson's death so horribly shows.
Thank you again for allowing me to comment Mr. Bruce.

Posted by HonoraHero (anonymous) on May 16, 2009 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It amazes me that the State still will not say how Officer Hesson has died. When will the state release the truth. In the (at least) last ten years, the Ohio State Highway patrol have never been so concerned with DYS facilities and the safety of the staff. Last week tours of the southern Ohio DYS facility began, so the State patrol could get a layout in preparation of an incident such as the ones at Marion and Cleveland. They will also be visible doing perimeter checks when in the area to display a presence to the youth. This is because ORV and Circleville will be getting all the worst youth in the state. Wow if all was so well with the positive changes made to DYS then why do we need all this. Officer Hesson will live in our hearts and we will not let his death be in vain. We will not go away till changes are made and his life is honored.
To the comment made by mob212738, I'm sure it has been a while since you have been in DYS. I have been with the system for 20 years and it has never been this bad. An hour lock up back a few years ago was all it took to correct most behaviors. And there was never a gang problem like we have now. We have youth in our facility that have been there going on four and five years, they tell us all the time they wish it would go back to the way it was. I'm all about programing and offering services to enhance the lives of the youth, but you can't have rehabilitation when you have ciaos.

Posted by I_town_resident (anonymous) on May 16, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TO HOLTZD-----You are right on! The laws need to give the right to kick ass back to the parents also, then maybe we would not be seeing as many "repeats". If the "higher ups people" lose a family member to one of these "misunderstood youths" would it be different then????

Posted by wigfur (anonymous) on May 18, 2009 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I posted about a week ago and more things came to mind about the way these youth "work." Talking about how all JCOs have to worry about hurting/injuring these frequently violent youth. It is known that there are youth who actually have parents that tell their children to act up and make a JCO hurt you so they can sue the JCO and make money the new "American Way." The parents are sometimes just as horrible as the youth. I will say that I do like my job. I'll admit that it can get rough, but I get through the day. Above someone mentioned about ratios of youth to staff. I have been on unit with 40 plus youth by myself. Not to mention having to move them to chow and so forth.

The Children's Law Center and Cohen see these violent youth as everyday kids. I'm sorry, the're far from everyday, kids next door. I wouldn't want one of these youth living next to me. It's sad that I went and got my CCW license because of the thought, "What if one of these kids sees me on the street and because I didn't give them what they wanted, they might do something to me?" It crosses my mind everyday. The mind set of these youth is far from what I can comprehend. I remember when I was there youth's age I was concerned about dating and school. Not how many people I can rob and how much money I can make selling dope.

Posted by concernedforall (anonymous) on May 18, 2009 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mr. Strickwrath talks about his remembering the 'good old days' that others talk about--when these felons were treated as felons. He stated that what he remembers are the following: " a whole lot of force, a whole lot of broken bones, a whole lot of youth in seclusion, a whole lot of staff getting injured." unquote. Now--did anyone see that he NEVER mentioned that no one was ever killed??? These so-called youths are felons people! A 'whole lot of force' just might be needed!!!! Not only do I fear for all that work in these facilities, I also fear for the juvenile delinquents there---more people are going to die and it is senseless!!! Wonder what kind of protection Strickwrath would want vs. need if HE WORKED ONE SHIFT???? Wonder if Strickwrath is willing to work with these juveniles even one shift a week with the now mandated 'new' rules of verbal skills to talk VIOLENT juveniles down??????
What the juvenile system has done, with the bullying of the juvenile advocacy groups, is created a violent, ignited crime field of a day camp that we are to call juvenile prisons---and the only ones that can protect themselves are the criminals!!!!!