There are about 30,000 Virginians in state prisons, and Virginia spends more than $25,000 a year to house each of them, making the Department of Corrections the most expensive agency in Richmond, with a billion dollar annual budget.
It spends $160 million on healthcare, but critics say that care is inadequate, and some inmates could be dying for lack of medical attention. Another 30,000 people are locked up in city or county jails, and as we'll hear throughout this series, their care is also questionable.