Juvenile Corrections Officer killed in Cuyahoga Hills
Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 8:01 pm
Mr. William Hesson died at the hands of "youth" in one of our state run facilities.
Guard dies after incident at juvenile correctional center
By Beacon Journal staff and wire services
POSTED: 07:20 p.m. EDT, May 02, 2009
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a 39-year-old state youth corrections officer from Stark County.
Dead is William Hesson of Canton, who had worked at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Heights for only a few months before he died late Wednesday after an incident involving a youth at the facility, according to the Department of Youth Services.
The department has not released any details about what led up to Hesson's death or what his injuries were, pending a ruling from Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller.
Hesson was highly respected and very professional, said Sally Meckling, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
Meckling said the union is increasingly concerned about factors that are contributing to a volatile environment in juvenile detention facilities, including a large fight among inmates and the assault of a female officer in a cell, both at a center in Marion.
She believes an unchecked gang problem throughout the system and the impending closing of the Marion facility, which houses high-risk offenders, are leading to disruption and injury to staff.
All youths in state correctional facilities are being reclassified, and many are being sent to facilities with different levels of supervision. The reclassification is being done as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged conditions in Youth Services facilities.
The youth involved in the altercation with Hesson had recently been moved to Highland Hills from another facility, Meckling said.
He is expected to be charged in Hesson's death, according to a law-enforcement source.
The Reed funeral home is handling arrangements for Hesson.
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a 39-year-old state youth corrections officer from Stark County.
Dead is William Hesson of Canton, who had worked at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Heights for only a few months before he died late Wednesday after an incident involving a youth at the facility, according to the Department of Youth Services.
The department has not released any details about what led up to Hesson's death or what his injuries were, pending a ruling from Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller.
Hesson was highly respected and very professional, said Sally Meckling, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
Meckling said the union is increasingly concerned about factors that are contributing to a volatile environment in juvenile detention facilities, including a large fight among inmates and the assault of a female officer in a cell, both at a center in Marion.
She believes an unchecked gang problem throughout the system and the impending closing of the Marion facility, which houses high-risk offenders, are leading to disruption and injury to staff.
All youths in state correctional facilities are being reclassified, and many are being sent to facilities with different levels of supervision. The reclassification is being done as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged conditions in Youth Services facilities.
The youth involved in the altercation with Hesson had recently been moved to Highland Hills from another facility, Meckling said.
He is expected to be charged in Hesson's death, according to a law-enforcement source.
The Reed funeral home is handling arrangements for Hesson
With the closing of the Marion DYS and the reclassification of inmates because of a lawsuit, there could be more loss of life within the walls of all the facilities. Please pray for Mr. Hesson's family. This has deeply affected all of us at the Franklin Furnace facility (ORVJCF). The assaults are happening more frequently and the "youth" are getting more rewards it seems. These are not your everyday kids, they are murderers, baby rapers. The adult system is now having problems with the kids that have recommitted and being sentenced to adult facilities. They are bringing with them gangs that the adult system has no clue what to do with. DRC has said that this is a different breed of inmates. Of course it is! They get there way in the Juvenile System and think they can go to the adult system and act and do the same things.
Please remember Officer Hesson and his family in your prayers. Pray for all the employees that are inside a fence with these Juveniles and the adult system. It is a diffferent world behind those fences and we all need to contact government officials and make them answer for the way these systems are run now!
Guard dies after incident at juvenile correctional center
By Beacon Journal staff and wire services
POSTED: 07:20 p.m. EDT, May 02, 2009
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a 39-year-old state youth corrections officer from Stark County.
Dead is William Hesson of Canton, who had worked at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Heights for only a few months before he died late Wednesday after an incident involving a youth at the facility, according to the Department of Youth Services.
The department has not released any details about what led up to Hesson's death or what his injuries were, pending a ruling from Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller.
Hesson was highly respected and very professional, said Sally Meckling, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
Meckling said the union is increasingly concerned about factors that are contributing to a volatile environment in juvenile detention facilities, including a large fight among inmates and the assault of a female officer in a cell, both at a center in Marion.
She believes an unchecked gang problem throughout the system and the impending closing of the Marion facility, which houses high-risk offenders, are leading to disruption and injury to staff.
All youths in state correctional facilities are being reclassified, and many are being sent to facilities with different levels of supervision. The reclassification is being done as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged conditions in Youth Services facilities.
The youth involved in the altercation with Hesson had recently been moved to Highland Hills from another facility, Meckling said.
He is expected to be charged in Hesson's death, according to a law-enforcement source.
The Reed funeral home is handling arrangements for Hesson.
The State Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a 39-year-old state youth corrections officer from Stark County.
Dead is William Hesson of Canton, who had worked at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Heights for only a few months before he died late Wednesday after an incident involving a youth at the facility, according to the Department of Youth Services.
The department has not released any details about what led up to Hesson's death or what his injuries were, pending a ruling from Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller.
Hesson was highly respected and very professional, said Sally Meckling, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
Meckling said the union is increasingly concerned about factors that are contributing to a volatile environment in juvenile detention facilities, including a large fight among inmates and the assault of a female officer in a cell, both at a center in Marion.
She believes an unchecked gang problem throughout the system and the impending closing of the Marion facility, which houses high-risk offenders, are leading to disruption and injury to staff.
All youths in state correctional facilities are being reclassified, and many are being sent to facilities with different levels of supervision. The reclassification is being done as part of a settlement of a lawsuit that challenged conditions in Youth Services facilities.
The youth involved in the altercation with Hesson had recently been moved to Highland Hills from another facility, Meckling said.
He is expected to be charged in Hesson's death, according to a law-enforcement source.
The Reed funeral home is handling arrangements for Hesson
With the closing of the Marion DYS and the reclassification of inmates because of a lawsuit, there could be more loss of life within the walls of all the facilities. Please pray for Mr. Hesson's family. This has deeply affected all of us at the Franklin Furnace facility (ORVJCF). The assaults are happening more frequently and the "youth" are getting more rewards it seems. These are not your everyday kids, they are murderers, baby rapers. The adult system is now having problems with the kids that have recommitted and being sentenced to adult facilities. They are bringing with them gangs that the adult system has no clue what to do with. DRC has said that this is a different breed of inmates. Of course it is! They get there way in the Juvenile System and think they can go to the adult system and act and do the same things.
Please remember Officer Hesson and his family in your prayers. Pray for all the employees that are inside a fence with these Juveniles and the adult system. It is a diffferent world behind those fences and we all need to contact government officials and make them answer for the way these systems are run now!