April Wright’s son, Austin, was sentenced to ten years for attempted robbery and assault. He was 19 and had trouble adjusting to prison life, prompting the state to send him to a maximum-security prison – then on to solitary confinement where another prisoner wrote to report on his plight.
“He was telling me that they were starving my son," Wright recalls. "He was actually the one giving the trays out, and whenever they delivered Austin’s tray, there wouldn’t be anything on it.”
She says Austin tried to fix the situation.
“My son had told the officers that if they didn’t feed him, he was going to burn himself, and the guards just laughed at him and said, ‘Do what you’ve got to do,” Wright explains.
The prisoner did, in fact, burn himself and now faces charges for doing that. If convicted, he could be required to serve another five years. His mom reports other problems – a beating by guards and extended time in solitary that caused mental deterioration.
“His e-mails went from, ‘Mom, please help me, to whatever it was. I couldn’t even understand what he was typing," she says, holding back tears. "He just went downhill.”
Wright complained to the Department of Corrections and to anyone else who might listen.
“I have literally called the state police, the police station in Wise County. I have called the FBI. I’ve contacted Obama, Biden and Trump. I’ve contacted the UN. There is not one person who really cares!”
But now there is an independent office set-up to help people like April Wright. It’s director, Andrea Sapone, told lawmakers this week that her team had received 507 complaints from 23 prisons – 22% classified as high severity. The vast majority, 269, came from Red Onion.
The ombudsman’s office has been trying to investigate, but Sapone said it’s hard to know what is actually happening behind bars.
"When we go and speak with frontline staff or heads of units or managers or even wardens this information differs or varies from what the head of the department shares with us, and I will also add that until our office gains full access to records it is hard to provide oversight.”
The department refused, for example, to talk about the extent of understaffing at Red Onion, but even before she issues findings, Sapone urged lawmakers to think creatively about solutions.
“We have very really problems happening," she said. "We have security issues going on. That’s preventing visitation, that’s preventing access to services and programming.”
Also offering testimony, Natasha White who did time in New York state. Now with a group called Interfaith Action for Human Rights, she warned that prison officials don’t always provide accurate information.
“You’re expecting the people who caused the abuse to give you the truth. Red Onion is a problem because of the way it is run. It creates a hostile environment. We have people dying in these prisons. We beg you to do a thorough investigation.”
And she urged the ombudsman to speak with prisoners.
“They’re not all lying. These people who are burning themselves just to get out of Red Onion – they’re not lying.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Corrections told White’s group that it had looked into concerns but found no evidence of inmates being beaten at Red Onion. If it found proof of inappropriate use of force, Legislative Liaison Rose Durbin said employees would be held accountable.
After the hearing, State Senator David Marsden was optimistic.
“I’m hoping that just this whole process will put the Department of Corrections on notice people are watching – people are taking this seriously.”
He said Virginia needed to reinstate parole, restore hope in our prisons and employ a parole board that’s not appointed by the governor.
“Otherwise, we’re going to just continue to deal with problems of people who just feel like their lives are over. They’ve already made a mistake in prison, they’ve gotten sent to Red Onion, and they’re thinking I’ll never get parole, because I’ve been sent to Red Onion. I’ll never get out.”
He said the state might expand its system of parole if Democrats retain control of the House of Delegates and occupy the Governor mansion after November’s election.
