Four Years After Lucasville, Same Problems Threaten COs

The 11-day siege that began April 11, 1993 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, was a wake-up call for America’s prison system. COs believed the hostage taking would underscore what they and their unions had been saying for years — that the safety of officers and the public was at risk because of overcrowding, understaffing, inadequate training and lack of equipment. But four years later — even as the officers held hostage and injured during the Lucasville siege received their final settlement from the state — COs in Maryland and Pennsylvania faced incidents that could have been prevented if prison administrators had heeded our warnings. As in Lucasville, AFSCME supported COs and their families through these trying events — demanding accurate information and fighting for change. What went right in these moments of crisis, went right because of ACU and its members.