Ohio prison watchdog resigns to save agency

Ohio legislators forced the resignation of the prison watchdog chief, in part, for her push to investigate mental health and medical care of inmates.

On Wednesday, the legislature passed a bill that also removes the director position altogether, but allows for contracting with a consultant. The legislation, added into the mid-biennium budget bill, also clearly places legislators in charge of directing all inspection work.

That individual direction of watchdog activities is the issue surrounding Joanna Saul's leadership as director. In a lengthy late-night email to the senate Tuesday, Saul pointed to her push to restore access to inmate mental health and medical records as the reason legislators wanted to "redefine" the committee.

"I protested due to the fact that we receive literally hundreds of letters from inmates reporting inadequate medical care," she wrote. "I particularly asked questions after two inmates died last fall — one due to medical neglect and the other due to suicide after being repeatedly sexually pressured at multiple institutions."

Senate Democrats said Republicans weren’t happy with an agency that reports to lawmakers doing investigations without prior approval. The initial plan, rejected by several groups including the ACLU and the union for correction officers, would have added multiple hoops to conducting any prison inspection with several people needing to sign off first.

Democrats pleaded for a compromise Wednesday that would maintain the partisan balance. The end result? Saul resigned with the promise of two months severance pay, and lawmakers tweaked how personnel decisions are made. Any staff changes would require a full vote of the commission with the chairperson having the final vote.

Saul, whose annual salary was $65,833, said she felt the continued existence of the inspection committee was more important than her. The committee inspects the operations of each prison at least once every two years. Under Saul's direction, the committee also has released reports on topics like use of force, violence, and made recommendations regarding private food vendor Aramark's contract violations that came to light after maggots were found in food.

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"I have always considered myself a public servant and want to make it clear that I resign today under protest," she wrote in her resignation letter that outlined she did so with the understanding that full prison inspections would continue at least once every two years.

Inspection committee chairman Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, said Thursday he was not part of the discussion to remove the inspection committee, but was aware of ongoing concerns.

"Joanna and I had a relationship I think was always professional ... She has a lot of passion and I admire that," Hite said.

However, Saul's push for medical records was outside the charge of the committee, he added, and there was a feeling that either the law needed changed to directly permit such access or the attitude of the committee needed to change.

Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, claimed Wednesday that Saul "has a history of being grossly insubordinate," citing two occasions where she had "refused to follow instructions and operated under her own plan."

“Any staff member that thinks that they run an organization in the General Assembly is mistaken,” Faber said. “Frankly, our staff should not be tolerated to be that disrespectful both of the institution and of the constituents.”

In 2014, then chairwoman Republican Sen. Shirley Smith placed Saul on administrative leave and pressed for her resignation after a disagreement on how to respond to the food contract issues with Aramark. Smith, who has since been appointed to the parole board by prison Director Gary Mohr, claimed Saul had been insubordinate.

Former Democratic Senator Bob Hagan, of Youngstown, served on the committee at the time and rejects the notion that Saul was ever insubordinate.

"Insubordinate is an arrogant term used by individuals who disagree with someone's philosophy ... She is someone who has done an incredible job in the past and currently. It's very frustrating to me as a past member of the CIIC to see her resign under pressure," Hagan said.

He feels Saul's pursuit of medical information was appropriate and important to insure civil rights weren't being violated. Hagan said most legislators have "no idea" what is going on in the prisons and shouldn't be the only ones inspecting them.

Faber said the goal wasn’t to simply get rid of Saul. Lawmakers had problems with the watchdog group for years.

“To me, this wasn’t just about Joanna Saul. It was about a staff person who believes they are above the members and above the organization,” Faber said.

Saul's resignation was effective Wednesday, but the acceptance noted she would remain in place on paid administrative leave through July 26.