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Mike
Brickner
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02/08/2012

U.S. Supreme Court Confirms Ohio Can’t Be Trusted to Carry Out Executions

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 3:41pm

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state of Ohio’s appeal to continue with the execution of Charles Lorraine. The execution was put on indefinite hold by Federal District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost in July. In his ruling, Judge Frost said:

Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramifications and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions.

The only consistent aspect of Ohio’s execution protocols is that they are fraught with problems. Over the past five years, the state has had  three botched executions. The first was Joseph L. Clark execution in 2006. Mr. Clark’s execution was delayed significantly because of collapsed veins. Witnesses overheard him exclaim “It don’t work” during the procedure. The next botched execution took place in 2007, when the execution team could not locate suitable veins on Christopher Newton. The execution took so long, Newton had to go for a bathroom break.

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12/14/2011
War on Women

Why Ohio's "Heartbeat Bill" is Truly Heartless

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 10:19am

Ohio lawmakers are poised this week to pass the most restrictive law in the nation preventing families from making important health decisions on pregnancy. House Bill 125 would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected — as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. That means even before a woman may know she is pregnant, she and her family will not have a full range of medical options available to them.

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09/09/2011
Voter ID

Ohioans Rise Up to Stop Voter Suppression Bill

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 11:00am

Pundits, politicians, and publicists all agree: Ohio is crucial to any national election. And this year, Ohio is just one of many states that has had to grapple with legislators’ attempts to restrict voting rights. In 2011, state legislatures across the country considered, and ultimately passed, a range of voter suppression legislation, including photo ID and proof of citizenship requirements, cuts to early and absentee voting, and more.

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06/29/2011
Overincarceration

Criminal Sentencing Reform Wins Bipartisan Support in Ohio

By Inimai Chettiar, ACLU & Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 3:41pm

Ohio's legislature has not been the friendliest place for civil libertarians this year. Bills under consideration include the most restrictive photo identification requirements for voters, privatizing six of the state's prisons and some of the nation's most aggressive attacks on reproductive freedom.

However, there is one notable bright spot in Ohio's legislative session: the passage of criminal sentencing reform. The ACLU of Ohio has been on the front lines advocating for sensible sentencing reform that would alleviate the state's overcrowded prison system. After two decades of unfair sentencing laws sending more low-level, nonviolent offenders to prison, the state's prison system is at 133 percent capacity with a growing class of ex-felons who are unable to gain access to employment, education and housing.

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06/16/2011
War on Drugs

40 Years and Over 40 Million Arrests Later, War on Drugs Still Harming Our Communities

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 1:31pm

June 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's declaration of a "war on drugs" — a war that has cost roughly a trillion dollars, has produced little to no effect on the supply of or demand for drugs in the United States, and has contributed to making America the world's largest incarcerator. Throughout the month, check back daily for posts about the drug war, its victims and what needs to be done to restore fairness and create effective policy.

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12/15/2009

Note to Police: Cell Phones Really Are Hands-Free

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 3:55pm

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision in the case State of Ohio v. Antwuan Smith (PDF) requiring law enforcement have a warrant in order to search the contents of someone’s cell phone. This marks the first time a state supreme court has ruled on this issue.

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12/08/2009

Untested Procedures Cannot Solve Ohio's Death Penalty Problems

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 1:14pm

(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)

I've heard the expression, "It's like rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic" many times to describe someone's ambivalence towards a monumental problem, but it has never rung as true as it does today.

Less than three months after the unprecedented failed execution of Romell Broom, in which officials had to abandon the procedure because they could not locate a viable vein, the state has reopened its death chamber. At 11 a.m. on December 8, 2009, Kenneth Biros was executed using an untested, experimental one-drug protocol devised by the state in the weeks following Broom's botched execution. The state publicly unveiled the procedure in late November, giving them only a few weeks to implement it and train the execution team on the new protocols.

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