TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- The union representing Ohio prison guards and other workers says the state's plan to move its death row will place a hardship on staff, inmates and their families.
The president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association said Friday that such a shift affects the operations and mission of the institutions. He also criticized a lack of communication between the state and the union about the move.
The state prison department says 124 death row inmates will be transferred from Chillicothe in southern Ohio to a Toledo prison shortly. Exact details weren't released for security reasons.
The state says the move will better accommodate aging inmates on death row and reduce crowding at prisons around Ohio.
The union represents about 9,000 workers in the state prisons system.
Ohio is moving its death row for the third time in a little over a decade.
The state says the Toledo prison is newer and designed to handle inmates with physical and mobility limitations.
The average age on death row is just under 50.
Executions will still be carried out at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
