We have just received confirmation that between the night of Wednesday, September 19th and Monday, September 24th, Sean was held in a suicide cell in the medical wing of the prison, despite the fact that he is not in any way a suicide risk. Apparently the prison maintains a special cell behind the medical department to be used as punishment for inmates: “torture cell number 112.”

This cell does not have a bed, just a concrete floor that Sean was forced to sleep on. The cell had no heat and Sean did not shower, have access to incoming mail, pen, paper or any of his belongings. He also did not eat for two days.

Please take a few moments to call the prison (see numbers below) and ask them about their treatment of Sean and the prison’s use of suicide cells as a form of punishment for inmates who are not suicidal. These calls and the resulting pressure really does help Sean, if you were wondering. They are most likely the reason Sean was moved from the suicide cell.

Sean is now being held in “normal” segregation pending an investigation that now involves the Ohio State Patrol (which has jurisdiction over criminal investigations within the ODRC).

Apparently, these trumped up charges are somehow related to the recent uprising at Mansfield Correctional on Wednesday, September 19th in which guards used fire hoses to quell the rebellion. Inmates calling themselves “The Army of the Twelve Monkeys,” powered by anger sweeping through the prison over the negative impact of the recent privatization of the prison commissary, have created mayhem throughout the institution.

Despite the fact that Sean does not seem to have been involved in the riot, it seems like the prison is attempting to pin Sean as the “leader” of this movement. This is most likely based solely on the fact that Sean, as a prolific writer and harsh critic of prisons, recently penned a critique of the new privatization plan.

Called JPay, the new system requires friends, families and supporters to send money orders to a private corporation in Hollywood, Florida, rather than directly to the ODRC as in the past. In addition, JPay takes a chunk of the money as a “service fee.” The only people allowed to put money on an inmate’s books are those on their visitation list.

Please take a minute to send a letter, article, some paper (up to 5 blank sheets per envelope) or a couple embossed envelopes to Sean. He could really use our encouragement and support right now, as well as the impact it has on the prison to see a targeted inmate receiving a ton of mail.