A spokesperson told the House of Delegates Public Safety Committee Monday that an investigation into the conditions at Red Onion State Prison would be given priority once the newly created Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman was fully staffed.
The hearing was held after numerous media reports claiming that inmates of the Wise County prison had committed self-harm to be transferred out. Solitary confinement is used to house inmates and try to rehabilitate them at the super-maximum prison. According to a Department of Corrections report, Red Onion was home to 764 inmates as of October.
Del. Marcus Simon, D, Falls Church, and the chair of the committee, spoke at Monday’s hearing.
Chad Dotson invited the members of the Red Onion Committee to visit the facility in response to the allegations of racism and abuse.
Dotson stated, “We are happy to display our work.”
The Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman was created by a new law that adopted in the 2024 Legislative Session.
What is the difference between a desperate cry for help and a bad-faith effort?
Concerns for the safety of Red Onion inmates arose following reports that inmates were setting themselves on flames or using modified electronic devices to burn themselves in order to be transferred out. Prison Radio first broke the story back in October. Prison Radio is a media company that covers the stories of prisoners in prisons across the nation.
At the end of November, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus released a response to these reports.
The statement said “These acts are desperate cries of help.” These tragic and repeated self-immolation efforts, as well as the accompanying hunger strike, show how gruesome conditions in prison can affect incarcerated people.
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus reported that prisoners at the prison had described physical and racial abuse by correctional officers, medical neglect including the withholding medicine, excessive stays in solitary, with one report of over 600 consecutive days, inedible foods covered with maggots, officers’ spit, and violent dog attack. The caucus urged the Department of Corrections and Governor. Glenn Youngkin should launch an investigation to investigate allegations of abuse in the prison.
The Caucus reported that 12 Black men had burned themselves.
Dotson, in late November discredited news reports about inmate suicides. He called them “nothing but bad-faith attempts by advocacy groups that are pursuing prison abolition to score cheap points.”
He admitted that while 12 prisoners did not “self immolate,” six of them had done so between March and October this year. Some of these inmates were treated by the secure medical facility run by the department at VCU Medical Center, before being cleared to return to prison. He said that some inmates did not need outside medical care. Dotson stated that all of the inmates with self-inflicted burns were referred to a mental health professional for treatment. Some of these individuals had a past history of self harm.
Virginia state Sens. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax County) and Barbara Favola (D-Arlington County) also wrote to Dotson in early November to seek clarification on several issues relating to the living conditions of the prison. The senators wanted to know about lockdowns and water quality. They also wanted to know if the toilets flushed, if there was access to showers, a variety of outdoor activities, as well as the circumstances surrounding the self-burning by at least two prisoners. Dotson, along with the Department of Corrections, responded to each of the senators’ questions in a 6-page letter dated November 20.
Advocates claim that problems are systemic
Geri Greenspan is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Virginia. She called the problems at Red Onion a systemic issue, not isolated incidents. Since 2010, the ACLU of Virginia and Red Onion have been involved in a legal dispute over Red Onion’s use of solitary.
Greenspan said that prisoners in the most restrictive areas of the prison were only allowed to leave their cells for four hours per day. They spend little or no time with others. Inmates who want to leave their cell are forced to undergo a humiliating strip search and restraints with five points, as well as being escorted to an outdoor, small “recreational cage” to continue spending time alone. She stated that the ACLU lawsuit was brought on behalf of all the plaintiffs who had been in solitary confinement for several years. Some even began to have suicidal thoughts.
Greenspan stated that VDOC could not be left to police themselves and demanded an independent investigation of allegations of racism and abuse at the facility.
Kenneth Hunter was imprisoned for 22 years for a nonviolent offense of drug use, including incarceration at Red Onion. He spent three years in solitary, which he described as the worst experience of her life. The effects are still felt today.
He said: “We know long-term isolation has severe and lasting impacts on mental and physical well-being.” “Prolonged isolation can lead to psychological problems such as anxiety, depression and hallucinations. Lack of social interaction can lead to mental instability and emotional decline.
DOC will assist in any investigation
Dotson told the committee that he would give them a tip to escape Red Onion. “All the prisoners said they did it to get away Red Onion.”
Dotson stated that the Department of Corrections was ready to work with the Ombudsman’s Office in their investigation.
Dotson told the committee, “I hope you come and see and that the Ombudsman also comes and sees.” There are no other conditions to their protest than the fact that they are in the mountains away from family and friends.
Red Onion was the subject of numerous complaints and lawsuits over a period of several years, relating to allegations of poor inmate treatment.
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