By Jeremy Pelzer
Northeast Ohio Media Group
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Ohio’s prison population nears an all-time high, Ohio prisons director Gary Mohr is pushing for more money for reentry programs and other community alternatives.
Speaking with members of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and Plain Dealer editorial boards on Thursday, Mohr said he will also seek, as a short-term solution, to reopen some prison units that he closed in the past couple years.
Ohio’s prison population is expected to grow from about 50,500 now to more than 51,000 next June. Current statewide prison capacity is about 38,500. Mohr, the director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said an increase in convictions for drug crimes, especially heroin, have contributed to the rise in prisoners.
Full story: Ohio prisons director looks to community alternatives as inmate population grows