Action toolkit

Demand a JUST Justice System for Cuyahoga County!

Compiled by OSA Cleveland

Facebook: facebook.com/osacleveland | Twitter & Instagram: @osacleveland

In collaboration with the Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail

Facebook: facebook.com/jailcoalition | Twitter: @jailcoalition | Website: bit.ly/jailco

Toolkit Overview

The purpose of this toolkit is to give you everything you need to take easy, meaningful actions to build pressure on Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley to make our county justice system more just. It will take you through what we are asking for and why, how you can get in touch with him, and a sample phone call script, a sample email, and social media posts to help you conduct your outreach and share our message!

Prosecutor Michael O’Malley

What We’re Asking for & Why

Call O’Malley — Sample Phone Call Script

Email O’Malley — Sample Email

Click to Tweet O’Malley

Tweets to Retweet

Hashtags

Social Media Graphics

Photos

Prosecutor Michael O’Malley

What We’re Asking for & Why

Treat kids like kids and reduce juvenile bindovers
- Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice report was released in October
- The fact sheet explains how prosecutors have a lot more power to determine the outcome of a child’s case more than a judge ever does
- Prosecutors determine mandatory bindovers through charging decisions
- Prosecutors initiate discretionary bindovers through charging and seeking bindover
- O’Malley recently said, “If there’s a bindover put on a juvenile, it’s because they put a gun to somebody” - the data shows this isn’t always true, and we don’t want a blanket determination, we want a policy that is individualized
- Consider the whole child - not just the gun in their hand
Don’t use lying cops’ testimony
- If a police officer has a history of lying or misconduct, it is not enough to just turn this information over to defense counsel.
- Officers who lie or commit misconduct that calls into question their integrity should not be relied upon for convictions
- Look to other prosecutors as examples
  - Marilyn Mosby’s “criminal discovery liaison” effort
  - Kim Gardner’s “no-call list”
  - Larry Krasner
Make diversion fair and accessible to everyone
- Diversion should not be limited to those who can afford it
- Right now, a person can be denied diversion or can be terminated from diversion because of an inability to pay restitution or court/supervision fees.

Prosecutor O’Malley said he “tries to divert every case he can.” He should eliminate the financial conditions to participate in and complete diversion.

Call O’Malley — Sample Phone Call Script

Phone Number: 216-443-7800

“Hi, my name is [Your Name]. I’m calling today to encourage Prosecutor O’Malley to take three policy actions for a more just system. I urge him to:

Stop using testimony from police officers with a known history of lying
Expand access to diversion services to make them fair and accessible for all, and
Significantly reduce the number of juvenile bindovers.

Thank you for your time, and please pass this message along to Prosecutor O’Malley.”

Email O’Malley — Sample Email

Email Address: mcomalley@prosecutor.cuyahogacounty.us

Subject: Please Take Action to Make Our County Justice System Fairer and More Just

Dear Prosecutor O’Malley,

I am a constituent writing to ask you to consider three specific policy actions your office can take in order to lower the population at the Cuyahoga County Jail and make our county justice system more just:

Stop using testimony from police officers with a known history of lying. Police corruption has been an endemic problem in Cuyahoga County for many years, and there’s no telling how many cases have been tainted by the influence of corrupt officers. We are calling on your office to stop using testimony from officers with a known history of lying, corruption, or criminal conviction. It is not enough to simply turn over personnel files to the defense but still build the prosecution’s case around faulty testimony. Furthermore, we are calling on your office’s Conviction Integrity Unit to re-open cases that used the testimony of such officers to secure convictions. There is precedent for these moves being made by officials in your position. Just last month, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby had nearly 790 cases thrown out based on the involvement of just 25 corrupt officers: https://bit.ly/2PhTOou
Expand access to diversion services. Currently diversion is rarely offered and even for those defendants who are eligible, there are a number of associated costs which make the programs prohibitively expensive for many individuals. I believe that criminal justice results in better outcomes when the focus is placed on rehabilitation over punishment, and these programs should be a fundamental part of that. Your office can push for more cases to go to diversion and help advocate for these programs being properly funded so that the costs are not passed onto defendants.
Significantly reduce the number of juvenile bindovers. While I am aware that certain offenses require a mandatory bindover under state law, the number of juvenile offenders bound over to adult court has nearly doubled during your tenure, and a large number of these have been discretionary. Furthermore, the ACLU of Ohio has found that your office has a significant amount of sway over whether charges are brought that carry a mandatory bindover as well. I urge you to consider the findings of their recent report: http://bit.ly/KidsInCourt

These reforms will make our county justice system fairer and more equitable. As your constituent, I am calling on you to take action and implement them.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Click to Tweet O’Malley

Click to Tweet — https://ctt.ac/2h406

"Cuyahoga County Citizens demand @ProsMikeOMalley:

1. Treat kids like kids. Juvenile bindovers doubled under him

2. Stop using testimony from cops with a history of lying

3. Make diversion accessible & fair. Too many have died in jail waiting for treatment

#Cleveland #CJReform #CuyahogaCountyJail"

Click to Tweet — https://ctt.ac/plOXd

"@ProsMikeOMalley why have juvenile bindovers in Cuyahoga County doubled since you took office despite flat or decreased crime rates? #TreatKidsLikeKids https://t.co/ntw2GwRpdL?amp=1"

Click to Tweet — https://ctt.ac/GUffg

"In the fiscal year 2018, 94 percent of the youth transferred to adult court in Cuyahoga County were black. Why are black kids so much more likely to be prosecuted as adults? @ProsMikeOMalley #TreatKidsLikeKids #BlackLivesMatter"