To the Ohio Inspector General Randall J. Meyer,
I’m writing to you on behalf of my brother, Ohio inmate Jason Goudlock ID A284-561. He is currently at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Jason has been incarcerated for 30 plus years now, largely due to the disparity caused by the controversial 1996 SB2 Bill that caused two classes of inmates (parole based/flat time), and SPECIFICALLY due to harassment by one of your parole officers in particular, Mr. Marc Houk.
In August, 2006, Jason was an inmate at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, Ohio. Marc Houk was the warden. An incident happened where Mr. Houk accused Jason of destroying an elevator by breaking the sprinkler head in cell and flooding it, and then filed criminal charges with the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office, where Paul J. Gains was the county prosecutor. Mr. Gains launched an investigation with then Ohio State Trooper David H. Simpson as the investigating officer. Trooper Simpson found that not only was Jason innocent of destroying the elevator, but that in fact Warden Houk had been illegally storing his custom motorcycle in the elevator, which is what actually caused the damage. Trooper Simpson also shared his findings with then Lt. Michael Jenkins. Trooper Simpson actually made a point of letting Lt. Jenkins know that Jason was in fact, being set up. Lt. Jenkins ignored the Troopers recommendation. Subsequently, Michael Jenkins was promoted to Inspector of Toledo Correctional Institution. Again, another case of an officer exercising corruption but is rewarded rather than investigated and punished…..The vandalism charges against Jason was subsequently dropped. From that point on, Marc Houk held a personal vendetta against Jason Goudlock, using his authority to harass Jason as often as possible. The full account of this incident can be found here:
It should also be noted that Marc Houk has been the subject of several corruption allegations, which can be found online. A clear example is an article published on Cleveland.com by Jeremy Pelzer interviewing former state senator Shirley Smith, who is painting the Ohio Parole board as a “secret society” whose members make decisions on inmates’ futures using inconsistent, biased or racist reasoning, often after missing hearings or being distracted by food or other work. She also recalls a specific incident with Marc Houk, in which a Spanish-speaking inmate with little understanding of English came before the board. Smith said she proposed rescheduling his hearing so an interpreter could be brought in, but that board member Mark Houk argued against it. “Well, why should we do that?” she quoted Houk as saying. "That’s costing the state money. I can just give him five years based on what he’s in for.”
Yet, somehow, this very same warden has ended up a member of the Ohio Parole Board, giving him DIRECT control over the future of inmates that he's previously had issues with or have filed legal actions against him, including Jason Goudlock. Is this not a conflict of interest? Does it not seem suspicious that Jason Goudlock, who helped expose some of Marc Houk's corruption back in August of 2006, has been denied parole THE LAST THREE TIMES he's been before the board of which Marc Houk is a presiding member? How is this legal?
I'm asking for your assistance in opening up an investigation into former warden and Ohio Parole Board member Marc Houk in this obvious conflict of interest as well as grave miscarriage of justice against my brother Jason Goudlock. There's no way that a former warden who was also caught filing false criminal charges against an inmate should be allowed to serve on the Ohio State Parole Board where he has say so over inmates whom he once had legal issues with! Why doesn’t HE have to take responsibility for HIS wrongful actions?! It's WRONG, and itself a form of corruption!
We feel that even if your office doesn’t really want to, this is a matter you should be compelled to look in to. Jason Goudlock has had his life severely negatively impacted because of this individual, Marc Houk, and this gross and glaringly obvious conflict of interest, while the State of Ohio at large and the Ohio Parole Board in particular turned a blind eye.
Let me also take a moment to mention the case of Ohio inmate Lance Pough ID A653-422. Mr. Pough also had issues with the Parole Board, in which he ended up filing a case that he was denied parole based on his race.
https://casetext.com/case/pough-v-dewine
It’s relevant because it outlines in detail some of the corruption within the Ohio Parole Board, of which Marc Houk is of course still an active member.
Jason Goudlock has an upcoming parole hearing in this June, and we don’t want him to have to suffer another act of biased injustice at the hands of Marc Houk. If you read through the links provided in this letter, you will find that there is more than enough evidence to warrant an investigation into Marc Houk. I would also like to point out that prior to Marc Houk’s appointment to the parole board, at Jason Goudlock’s 3rd hearing, he was recommended to go home.
We would like swift action on this matter. Not only is this letter going to your office, but we will be sending this letter out to several media outlets and civil rights organizations. Jason Goudlock should have come home many years ago. He was convicted at the age of 18, just a child, and has been forced to spend his entire adult life behind bars essentially because of corrupt individuals on the Parole Board and an obvious conflict of interest. It is my understanding that the head of the Ohio Parole Board is a former prosecutor; I don’t see how a former prosecutor could turn a blind eye to proven misconduct and corruption by one of her Parole Board members. The whole situation is just wrong, and a gross injustice has been carried out against Jason Goudlock. As his brother, I’m tired of seeing him locked up and suffering. I want someone to do something about what’s been done to my brother. I want your office to use its power and launch a proper investigation into Marc Houk, and I would like to see my brother have a fair and proper unbiased parole hearing in June, so that he may be released immediately.
Thank you for your time.
James Gouldlock
CC:
Ohio State Inspector General
cvasquez@akronnewsreporter.com
mailto:investigatortips@wews.com
Senator Cecil Thomas
mailto:beyondguilt@ohiojpc.org
annette.chambers-smith@odrc.state.oh.us
Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell <abell@sulc.edu>
Ptrexler@themarshallproject.org
To Members of the Ohio Parole Board;
My name is James Gouldlock, and I am writing on behalf of my brother, inmate Jason Goudlock, Inmate ID 284-561. Jason has been incarcerated for over 30 years now, currently at the ODRC Southern Ohio Correctional Institution. He is a victim of the Ohio sentencing disparity, caused by the 1996 SB2 Sentencing Reform Act, which essentially created 2 classes of inmates, old law versus new law. Old law prisoners, as you know, are under your jurisdiction, while new law inmates are on a flat time system with less time for convictions. For example, Jason was given a sentence of 6 to 25 with a mandatory 9 year gun specification for aggravated robbery and felony assault, meaning that he would do a mandatory 15, with a possibility of 34 years. After the change in 1996, that same crime now carries a 3 to 11 year sentence, depending on the degree of the offense. This means that Jason has been incarcerated at least 19 years longer than his crime requires.
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Boards/Sentencing/resources/general/SB2.pdf
As stated, Jason has been incarcerated for 30 plus years. Let that sink in for a moment. 30. YEARS. Jason went to prison at 18, a teenager. And while the crime Jason was convicted on may have been violent in nature, Jason DID NOT kill anyone. In fact, it's my understanding that the individual he shot was actually in the act of trying to rob HIM, and the gun went off during the struggle, resulting in the individual being shot in the leg. Also, this was Jason's first offense. In addition, Jason was raised in unstable circumstances; our mother was a lifelong drug addict who ultimately succumbed to her addictions. Both Jason and I spent our childhoods living in foster care. Jason was in and out of various foster homes, and he grew up in the vicious streets of Cleveland, Ohio, which to this day is notoriously dangerous. His unfortunate circumstances heavily contributed to many of the choices he made as a teenager. I'm not stating this as an excuse for his crime, I'm simply trying to give an explanation. Essentially, Jason was a CHILD, caught up in bad circumstances, who made very bad choices. He is also the victim of state politics, as he was simply tried and convicted at a time when the state of Ohio was giving open ended, indefinite sentences. Obviously, your own government felt the system needed an overhaul, because 2 1/2 years after his conviction, they changed the statutes. But they didn't enact the changes retroactively, resulting in the current two classes of inmates that exist in the state of Ohio, a severe disparity that has caused inmates like my brother and thousands of others to serve longer sentences than their counterparts. Regardless, Jason has been incarcerated in the state of Ohio for 30 YEARS.
Eric Smith, who viciously beat and murdered 4 year old Derrick Robbie at age 13, only did 28 years in prison.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eric-smith-released-derrick-robie-killer-gamble-48-hours/
Casey Pigge, an Ohio inmate who violently killed TWO other inmates, was only sentenced to 25 years.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/accused-ohio-prison-killer-set-for-guilty-plea-sentencing/
Devon Robinson, another Ohio man from South Linden, killed Mario Copeland, pled guilty to kidnapping with a firearm specification, and was only sentenced UP TO 30 years.
These are just a few examples of ACTUAL MURDERERS who have done or will do less time than Jason Goudlock, a teenager who shot a man that was attacking him. So I ask you; hasn't Jason done enough time to compensate for his crimes? Is it justice for a BOY who made stupid choices when he was young to spend his ENTIRE adult life incarcerated when no died or was even seriously injured while bonafide, convicted MURDERERS do less time? It's my understanding that the SIX TIMES that Jason has been denied parole is justified by the parole board because of his list of infractions while in the Ohio Prison system.
I pose this question: Does getting into fights with other inmates (in a predatory environment where it's often defend yourself or become prey) and arguing with COs warrent taking away a man's ENTIRE ADULTHOOD? Does keeping a man locked up for at least 15 years beyond what the current laws require for routine prison infractions equal justice? Jason went to prison at 18. He is now 49. He has lost so much because of the politics of the Ohio parole system. He's not even the same individual who went to prison.
In my opinion, a grave injustice has been done to Jason by the state of Ohio and the Parole Board. What purpose does it serve to keep denying this man parole? How much punishment does he deserve for something he did as a teenager? What's been done to Jason Goudlock has gone far beyond rehabilitation; this is state sanctioned cruel and unusual punishment, using technicalities to keep an individual enslaved by the system just because they CAN. I implore you; LET JASON GOUDLOCK OUT OF PRISON! He's done enough time! As I've shown you, ACTUAL MURDERERS in Ohio have not or will not do the time that Jason Goudlock has done. It's not right, and at this point it's a miscarriage of justice! The right thing to do at this point would be to grant Jason Goudlock IMMEDIATE CLEMENCY, and allow him to salvage what remains of his life!
I thank you for your time, and it is my prayer that the powers that be will not simply dismiss this letter, but seriously consider the points that I have made. Allow Jason Goudlock to move with his life. He has given the state of Ohio enough time. Thank you again.
James Gouldlock