Monday morning February 2nd Sean Swain will start refusing meals until Ohio Department of Retribution and Corruption officials and JPay stop interfering with his communication with the outside world. Sean demands that he be given the same access to communication as any other prisoner, and that he not be further targeted for his deeply held anarchist beliefs.

Sean needs your support!

We’re asking outside supporters to call Stephen Gray in the ODRC legal services department at central office, because we believe this restriction is all about retaliation and interference with the lawsuit  Sean has pending against 11 ODRC officials. Call Stephen Gray at 614-752-1765 or write him a letter: Stephen Gray, Legal Services, 770 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43222.

Sample script: “Hello, my name is ____. I’m calling about Sean Swain’s communication access. He was denied four video visits this weekend. We’re concerned that this relates to the lawsuit Sean has pending against employees in your office, specifically Trevor Clark. Can you tell us who authorized cancelling these visits, and why?”

Also, after a monitored phone call in which Sean discussed sending Ben more information about the situation, prison officials cut prisoner access to the email Sean was going to use for everyone on Sean’s security level. They used to be able to check their emails twice a day, now they’re only allowed every other day. Call OSP at 330-743-0700 and ask for Mrs Franklin. You can also ask to talk to the Warden, or email assistant warden Laura Gardner, here: Laura.Gardner@odrc.state.oh.us

Sample script: “Hello, my name is _____. I’m calling about the recent policy change regarding prisoner access to the email kiosk for prisoners on level 4A. I’m requesting that you please reverse this policy, stop arbitrarily restricting prisoners’ access to their loved ones, and stop using collective punishment to set prisoners against each other. Thank you.”

DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THESE RESTRICTIONS AND WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT:

What we know:

-We scheduled four video visits this weekend, and on Friday afternoon, someone at OSP cancelled the visits, with no warning or explanation.

-Sean got mad when he saw the cancelled visits and threatened a hunger strike to start Monday morning.

-OSP guards told Sean they don’t have authority to cancel visits.

-JPay customer service operators told Ben that OSP guards do have authority to cancel video visits. In fact, all JPay communication goes through facility approval and JPay just does what the officers tell them to.

-Trevor Clark, legal counsel for the ODRC has been railroading and fucking with Sean since at least April of 1023. Trevor is also the lead defendant in a lawsuit Sean has pending against 11 ODRC officials.

-Sean called Ben Sat morning to let him know about the hunger strike and to make sure it wasn’t Ben that cancelled the video visits. During that monitored phone call, Sean said he’d send Ben more information that afternoon.

-Case Manager Mrs. Franklin changed the policy twenty minutes later so that all prisoners on 4A are now only allowed access to the JPay kiosk once a day, instead of the standard policy of twice a day. That prevents Sean from emailing Ben the additional information. Also, it violates the contract with JPay (they make their money on prisoners sending emails, so they want prisoners to have access to the machine).

-Sat evening, a Lieutenant finally came to answer Sean’s questions. He didn’t answer any of the questions, but said that prisoner access to the kiosk is now limited to once every other day, so Sean won’t be able to email Ben or his lawyer until Monday night.

-Prisoners got pissed and started calling friends and family and flooded Mrs Franklin’s voicemail with complaints.

-Sean’s lawyer, Rick Kerger will also be calling ODRC officials and trying to get to the bottom of these things.
How we interpret these things:

-They’ll try to justify cutting the visits because the video could be posted to this site. The ODRC has a media policy that restricts journalists from recording or publishing interviews without approval. This media policy is applied unevenly and is often used to shut down certain prisoner’s views. The trouble is, Ben is not a journalist, and if the ODRC tries to expand the media policy to include anyone with a facebook account or access to websites, then they can treat any visitor as media, and arbitrarily silence targeted prisoners or supporters’ speech and communication. There is nothing in the ODRC or JPay policies saying that publicly sharing video from the JPay video visits is improper or against any rule. This justification is bullshit, and letting it stand expands repression against all prisoners on level 4A.

-We believe Trevor Clark is behind the cancellations of the visits, cuz he’s kinda been behind everything, and we’re suing his pants off.

-It is not a coincidence that Mrs Franklin changed policy at that precise moment. 11:30 AM on a Saturday is a highly unusual time for OSP to change policies.

-Collective punishment is being used to isolate Sean from other prisoners. Fortunately, the other prisoners are not buying it and instead recognize that OSP is the ones restricting their access, without legitimate reason.

-Sean doesn’t believe in hunger strikes, but he moreso doesn’t believe in backing down from threats or rolling over when the fascist fuckweasels take something away. Sometimes reformism is the terrain on which we must fight. On Friday, Sean will run out of blood pressure medication. If his demands are not met by then, he will refuse this medication. We know Sean uses humor and sarcasm as tools of resistance, but he can also be dead serious, and committed to his resistance actions. We need to be serious in our support for him, and the other prisoners at OSP who’s communication is being arbitrarily restricted.

– Some background on the policy change: Sean believes that one of the officers at OSP, Ms McDonough, is behind the policy change, and is motivated by a small minded assertion of authority. Some prisoners on 4A would sometimes help each other out by sharing email access codes, so they could check each other’s email and pass on any urgent messages from loved ones. McDonough decided this activity is improper and started writing people up for it. When prisoners pointed out that there was no rule they were breaking, she got mad and decided to further restrict all access to the kiosk. McDonough is the only person who had a problem with prisoners checking each others’ mail. No issues arose among prisoners, it made less work for the guards, and it meant more email traffic (and thus profits) for JPay. McDonough is changing the policy simply to assert her authority, not for any legitimate reason.

-This policy change violates JPay’s contract with OSP. Less access to the kiosk means fewer emails, which cuts into their profits. Obviously, we’re not concerned with JPay’s profits, but it may be strategic to drive the wedge between JPay and OSP’s interests.