Virginia inmates are burning themselves to get transferred from a state prison

This story was updated Nov. 27, 2024 to include a statement from Virginia Department of Corrections Director Chad Dotson.  

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus is calling on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to investigate. 

A number of inmates at a western Virginia state prison have intentionally burned themselves in response to alleged abuse, prompting state lawmakers to call for immediate action and an investigation. 

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) on Tuesday urged Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia Department of Corrections Director Chadwick Dotson to investigate allegations of abuse and mistreatment at Red Onion State Supermax Prison in Wise County. 

Since Sept. 15, at least 12 Black men have burned themselves in response to alleged systemic abuse, neglect, and human rights violations at Red Onion, according to the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. The self-burnings are “acts of desperation” by inmates fed up with alleged racism and intolerable conditions and come after a hunger strike at Red Onion earlier this year that lasted more than 40 days.

Asked by The Dogwood if Youngkin planned to investigate, Youngkin’s Press Secretary Christian Martinez shared the following statement: “Governor Youngkin is aware of the six inmates at Red Onion State Prison who burned themselves using improvised devices that were created by tampering with electrical outlets. They were treated for electrical burns at the Department’s secure medical facility at the VCU Medical Center and cleared to return to the facility.”

A spokesperson for Attorney General Jason Miyares declined to comment, citing a pending investigation. The spokesperson did not clarify any details about the nature of the investigation. 

The Virginia Department of Corrections Director Dotson released a statement on Wednesday confirming that six inmates at Red Onion had burned themselves but did not, according to him, “set themselves on fire or self-immolate, as some reports have ludicrously suggested.” 

“The recent round of stories about Red Onion are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to try to score cheap political points by advocacy groups who pursue prison abolition and policies that would make Virginians less safe,” Dotson said.

Advocates say the problems at Red Onion have been known for years. 

“The real, fundamental issue over the conditions that led to people taking such desperate actions – that is not a new story about Red Onion,” said Chris Kaiser, policy director of ACLU of Virginia, in an interview with The Dogwood. “It is well past time for some action.”

Prisoners at Red Onion have allegedly been subject to racial and physical abuse from correctional officers and have had medicine withheld from them. Prisoners there have reportedly dealt with excessive stays in solitary confinement, including the case of Tyquine Lee, who spent over 600 days in solitary.

Advocates have called on Youngkin to reconsider his position on solitary confinement, even though the governor vetoed legislation earlier this year that would have banned it in Virginia. The debate around solitary confinement can get bogged down in euphemisms and definitions in a way that advocates say overlooks the inhumane treatment of isolating prisoners. 

In his veto statement, Youngkin said, “imposing arbitrary timeframes for stays in restorative housing, including investigation time, restricts the staff’s ability to maintain order and security.” Youngkin also highlighted his support for the creation of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman, which has independent oversight of the state’s prisons. 

Del. Holly Seibold of Vienna visited Red Onion earlier this year to get a first-hand look at conditions there. The visit made her question whether Red Onion was doing anything to actually rehabilitate its prisoners.

“We should be holding them accountable, but our goal should be to rehabilitate them,” Seibold said in an interview with The Dogwood. “How is this going to happen if the prison is structured in a way where they’re just being punished 24/7.”