At Least Two of the Officials to be Part of Response to Prison Officer Killing on Christmas Day
Ross County Courthouse in Chillicothe — Nine Ross County and state officials were sworn in at noon on the last day of the year. Six had won re-election in the fall ballot.
Each one was encouraged to bring their own Bible and be joined by family and friends, to be sworn in by one of the four county and municipal court judges, in Courtroom Number One in the courthouse.
Elections for the City of Chillicothe were last year, so there were no swearing-ins for them.
All but one of the officeholders were Republican men. (Ross County Coroner Ben Trotter (D), who had an uncontested race, was sworn in at a separate time.)
David Glass happened to be the first, and I caught him on camera being sworn in to his first elected office as county commissioner. (See my previous story on his new job.)
State Representative Mark Johnson of the 92nd District was the last, and I asked him about his priorities for his third term.
He explained that at the very end of his last session, he championed legislation to restrict repeat drunk drivers, specifically “Liv’s Law” for Olivia Wright. Now he says he will be proposing “Andy’s Law”…
Two of the officials will be dealing with the killing of a prison guard at the Ross Correctional Institution on Christmas Day. Officer Andy Lansing, who was working overtime on the December 25th holiday shift, was assaulted by inmate Rashawn Cannon, who has a “troubling record of confrontations” with correctional officers since being incarcerated in 2023.
Since the crime occurred in Ross County, re-elected County Prosecutor Jeff Marks will be involved in the case. He said the state’s investigation is still ongoing and he must await results before he has any idea of a timeline – though he anticipates about six to seven weeks for the results. He said there is no rush since the accused “is not going anywhere,” having been moved to the higher-security prison at Lucasville.
Representative Mark Johnson said we will mourn Andrew Lansing until he is buried Friday…then Johnson said he has state prison reform at the top of his priorities. Johnson said “there is a whole litany of things” that have come forward because of the murder, including many criticisms of the state prison system, and so he said he will be introducing “Andy’s Law.”
He said Lansing should never have been at risk to be killed: no prison officer should have to work alone, or perform his duties in the dark. (After I interviewed Johnson, he said that Lansing was stomped so badly that his wife didn’t even recognize him.) Hear Johnson in his own words below.
Our two latest stories on the incident:
- Inmate Charged in Correction Officer’s Death Had Troubling History at Prison (12/31)
- Tragic Death of Correctional Officer Sparks Call for Accountability from Union (12/27)
