On August 6, 2026, the correctional community marks 30 years since Correctional Case Manager Bonita Haynes was killed in the line of duty at Lima Correctional Institution in Ohio.

Bonita was only 29 years old.

Three decades have passed since she walked the halls of Lima Correctional Institution, yet her name, her service and the changes inspired by her loss remain deeply woven into Ohio’s correctional community. Bonita’s life was taken far too soon, but her legacy has continued to protect correctional professionals, create opportunities for young people and bring people together in remembrance.

A Life of Service Cut Short

On August 6, 1996, Bonita was working at Lima Correctional Institution when she was assaulted and killed by two incarcerated individuals. Coworkers initially believed she had remained at the institution to assist someone—an assumption that spoke to the kind of dedicated case manager they knew her to be.

Bonita had previously reported concerns that an incarcerated individual was stalking her. Following her murder, both individuals responsible were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Bonita was survived by her mother, Sarah, and her brother, Brian.

The tragedy exposed serious vulnerabilities within the correctional workplace and led to significant changes throughout the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. A policy was implemented preventing employees from being required to work alone against their will, and man-down alarms were made available to staff.

At the 2021 dedication of a memorial garden honoring Bonita and other fallen Ohio correctional employees, then-ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith described the lasting effect of those changes:

“There are so many things that her death created. That’s her legacy.”

Chambers-Smith noted that only the Lucasville prison uprising had resulted in more departmental changes than Bonita’s death. Those reforms remain an important part of Bonita’s enduring legacy, a legacy measured not only in remembrance, but also in the correctional professionals made safer because she lived.

A Place Where Her Name Will Be Seen

On August 6, 2021, exactly 25 years after Bonita’s death, a memorial garden was dedicated at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution, the successor to the now-closed Lima Correctional Institution.

The garden honors Bonita alongside Correction Officer Dennis Stemen and Correction Officer Shirlene Jenkins, who also died in the performance of their duties.

Its location along the institution’s main entrance was intentional. Correctional employees pass it as they arrive for work and again when they leave—a daily reminder of those who reported for duty but never made it home.

The garden ensures that new generations of correctional professionals will continue to see Bonita’s name and understand that the safety practices in place today were shaped, in part, by her sacrifice.

Turning Remembrance Into Opportunity

Bonita’s memory also lives beyond the prison grounds.

The Bonita L. Haynes Memorial Scholarship was established to help young people pursue higher education. Supported in part by an annual memorial golf scramble, the scholarship transforms remembrance into opportunity and allows Bonita’s name to become part of each recipient’s journey.

In July 2026, members of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the Mulligans Youth Golf Program and the Smith-Jones Family Foundation gathered for the 19th annual Bonita L. Haynes Memorial Golf Scramble. Organizers reported that 27 scholarships have now been awarded in her honor.

Thirty years after Bonita lost the future that should have been hers, her name continues to help young people build futures of their own.

A Mother Who Made Sure Her Daughter Was Never Forgotten

Bonita’s legacy cannot be told without also remembering her mother, Sarah Louise Haynes.

Sarah came to know the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation through the unimaginable loss of her daughter. Bonita was honored at PROJECT in 1997, and through CPOF, Sarah met other families carrying the same kind of grief.

Rather than allowing that grief to isolate her, Sarah turned it into service.

She became a CPOF Field Representative and devoted herself to supporting Ohio’s correctional community and maintaining relationships with the families of fallen correctional professionals. She understood that although every family’s story was different, the burden of losing someone in the line of duty created a bond that should never be forgotten.

“No loss is easy,” Sarah once wrote while reflecting on the Ohio families she had come to know. She believed deeply in staying connected with those families—not only immediately following a tragedy, but throughout all the years that followed.

Sarah carried Bonita’s memory with faith, dignity and determination until her own passing in December 2025. She ensured that her daughter was remembered not solely for the terrible circumstances of her death, but for the life she lived, the work she performed and the difference her sacrifice ultimately made.

This 30th anniversary is the first without Sarah here to lead that remembrance herself. Now, the responsibility belongs to all of us.

Her Light Still Shines

Years ago, the Lima City Council designated August 6 as Bonita Haynes Day. Community members have since been encouraged to illuminate their porch lights in her honor, a visible reminder that Bonita remains a light in the community she served.

That light can be seen in the correctional employees protected by improved safety procedures. It shines in a memorial garden passed by staff at the beginning and end of every shift. It continues through every student who receives a scholarship bearing Bonita’s name.

And it lives in the CPOF family Sarah helped strengthen through her compassion and service.

Thirty years later, we remember Correctional Case Manager Bonita Haynes. We honor her service, her sacrifice, and the future she was denied. We remember Sarah, who spent the rest of her life making certain her daughter’s name would never be lost to time.

Bonita and Sarah are together again, but the promise Sarah carried remains with us:

We will remember Bonita.

We will speak her name.

We will honor the changes created through her sacrifice.

And we will continue Taking Care of Our Own.

Correctional Case Manager Bonita Haynes
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
End of Watch: August 6, 1996