Ohio Parole Board facing lawsuit over 'unwritten' policies to deny release

Criminal justice reform advocates are suing the Ohio Parole Board in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, accusing the board of following an unwritten rule to reject releasing certain inmates.

The Ohio Justice and Policy Center, a nonprofit legal clinic based in Cincinnati, filed the case on Wednesday, saying that the board automatically denies parole to inmates who previously spent time on death row.

"...the Board currently observes a blanket policy or practice of denying parole to any person who was previously sentenced to death, even after the sentence was changed to life with the possibility of parole," attorneys wrote in the complaint.

The two plaintiffs in the case — Patricia Wernert and George Clayton — have been incarcerated since 1976 on aggravated murder charges. Both were sentenced to death. But when Ohio's capital punishment law was struck down, their sentences were changed to 20-years to life.

Wernert, 78, was denied parole four times, most recently in March 2021. Clayton, 64, was denied parole six times, most recently in March 2020. Both Wernert and Clayton have built exemplary track records inside prison and have viable release plans, their attorneys say.

More:DeWine makes changes to Ohio Parole board

The 12-member parole board has discretion over the release or retention of prisoners sentenced before a state law change in 1996 and over inmates sentenced to life terms after 1996 for murder and sex crimes against children. Board members, who are appointed by the state prisons director, also review clemency requests and make recommendations to the governor.

In 2019, following the criticism and resignation by a parole board member, Gov. Mike DeWine took steps to make the board more transparent and diverse.

The Ohio Justice and Policy Center has a history of lawsuits against the state, including a 2003 class action suit that resulted in major reforms to the prison health care system. This year, it sued the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for garnishing inmates' coronavirus relief funds to pay off debts the prisoners owed to courts or other state agencies.

In May it filed another lawsuit against the Ohio Parole Board, saying the board relies upon victim statements that are sometimes false or based on misinformation. The statements are withheld from incarcerated people or their counsel, the lawsuit argues.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.