The Virginia Black Legislative Caucus is urging Governor Glenn Youngkin and the state Department of Corrections to launch an independent investigation into allegations of abuse and harsh conditions at Red Onion State Prison, a supermax facility in western Virginia. The call follows reports of at least six inmates setting themselves on fire in protest.
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, an inmate at Red Onion, detailed the incidents through Prison Radio in October, alleging that “racism and abuses” compelled prisoners to such desperate acts. Johnson claimed that the prison’s conditions were so intolerable that inmates burned themselves in attempts to be transferred. One inmate, Ekong Eshiet, described his act as one of “desperation” rather than protest. Another inmate, Charles Coleman, reportedly suffered “repeated physical, verbal, and psychological abuse” and was denied treatment for chronic heart disease.
The burns were inflicted using makeshift devices crafted by tampering with electrical outlets, according to Christian Martinez, Governor Youngkin’s press secretary. The inmates were treated for their injuries and returned to the facility. Corrections Director Chad Dotson dismissed the allegations as “bad-faith efforts” by advocacy groups seeking prison abolition.
Governor Youngkin acknowledged six cases of self-immolation in 2024 and stated the Department of Corrections had investigated the incidents. “Part of the investigation is to understand how they’ve happened and why they’ve happened,” Youngkin said, without addressing claims of abuse or poor living conditions.
The Legislative Black Caucus highlighted more extensive issues at Red Onion, citing inmate testimonies of racial abuse, medical neglect, solitary confinement lasting up to 600 days, and food contaminated with maggots and officers’ spit. A Tuesday post on X revealed that as many as 12 inmates may have harmed themselves since May 2023.
Johnson also noted a December 2023 hunger strike protesting solitary confinement. Over the years, Red Onion has faced scrutiny from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International for alleged human rights violations. Dotson stated legislators have been invited to visit the facility to assess conditions but maintained the self-immolating inmates had histories of self-harm.
Link: NBCNews
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