Ohio National Guard general who led response to Lucasville prison riot dies at age 87

Bill Bush, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
James J. Hughes, Jr.
James J. Hughes, Jr.

James J. Hughes Jr., a former major general in the Ohio National Guard who led the response during the Lucasville prison riot died Dec. 19 at a Dublin retirement facility.

Hughes, who was also public safety director and city attorney for the city of Columbus in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was 87 years old.

Hughes commanded the 16th Engineer Brigade and served as state area commander of the Ohio National Guard, responsible for all state military assets in support of civil authorities and personnel for disaster responses, according to an obituary. He commanded National Guard troops during numerous riots and protests.

Safety Director James J. Hughes, left, is at command as police prepare to clear High Street on May 22, 1970. With him are Police Chief Dwight Joseph, wearing a gas mask, and Capt. Frank Peterfy (at right), plus an unidentified fire chief. Behind them is the fire division's water turret, which was not used.
Safety Director James J. Hughes, left, is at command as police prepare to clear High Street on May 22, 1970. With him are Police Chief Dwight Joseph, wearing a gas mask, and Capt. Frank Peterfy (at right), plus an unidentified fire chief. Behind them is the fire division's water turret, which was not used.

Born in Columbus in 1936, he graduated from St. Charles Preparatory School before attending the University of Notre Dame in 1959, and then receiving his law degree from Georgetown University in 1962.

Hughes and a partner formed a firm that eventually expanded to more than 30 attorneys, and was ultimately acquired by Baker & Hostetler in 1980. He was an adjunct professor of Health Care Law at Ohio State University's College of Medicine and School of Public Health from 1969 to 2001.

Hughes served as public safety director under then Columbus mayor Maynard Edward "Jack" Sensenbrenner. When Mayor Dana G. Rinehart held a "pen site summit" to try to end political bickering on how, when and why the city should gain control of the 22.5-acre Ohio Penitentiary site, which later became part of revitalized the Arena District and Nationwide Arena, he asked Hughes, then an attorney with the firm of Bricker and Eckler, to act as facilitator.

Hughes commanded National Guard troops during the 11-day siege of the Ohio Penitentiary at Lucasville in 1993.

"We did it better this time than it has ever been done before," Hughes said in an article for Buckeye Guard magazine in the aftermath of the riot. "We brought under control an extremely dangerous situation because of training and patience. This epitomizes the role of the citizen-soldier."

Hughes eventually retired to Naples, Florida, where he became involved with that city's Planning Advisory Board and served as a board member of the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Columbus safety director, attorney James Hughes dies at 87