Staffers At Virginia Prison Considered Charging Inmates For Self-Inflicted Burns During ‘Intolerable’ Conditions Protest

And, yes, there's an email chain.

Court documents revealed staffers at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison thought about charging inmates who burned themselves while staging protests of the “intolerable” conditions they face, The Appeal reports.

Six inmates allegedly intentionally burned themselves during the 2023 protests, and according to emails, staffers at the maximum security prison considered charging the inmates “thousands of dollars for the hospital and medical treatment,” while assistant warden Dwayne Turner recommended prosecuting them for setting fires in their cells.

“I believe on Monday, we pull policy and start charging the inmates thousands of dollars for the hospital and medical treatment,” one officer wrote. “Once we iron through this, we can send the word through the inmate population that they’re going to be changed [sic] thousands for their medical due to intentional manipulation. Just my thoughts on how to prevent this kind of behavior.”

Turner responded with, “Yeah, sounds good. But the first thing we need to figure out is why. Do they think they will get transferred? If so, we need to make sure they don’t…. obviously, they think they can gain something from doing that. We need to make sure they know they won’t gain anything….but making them pay money is good too[.]”

The six listed inmates, along with others, allege being denied necessary medication and suffering from physical torture by correctional officers. Virginia Del. Michael Jones said during a visit to Red Onion, he witnessed injuries on an inmate obtained from a prison dog attack, according to NBC News. Jones also claimed he received a number of complaints from other inmates regarding the quality of food, medical care and racism.

Long bouts in solitary confinement are one of the main complaints heard by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. Former inmate Kenneth Hunter, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a nonviolent drug offense at 21, said he spent his first year at Red Onion in solitary confinement. Prior to his sentence ending in 2021, Hunter said there were plenty of “instances of physical abuse and excessive force.”

Ekong Eshiet, one of the prisoners who, in an email to Natasha White, director of community engagement at Interfaith Action for Human Rights, admitted to setting his leg on fire and sustaining burns, said he experienced abuse once he returned from the hospital.

“Plz be notified that I set my leg on fire 09/15/24, went to VCU 09/18/24 and came back to ROSP 09/24/24,” he wrote in the message. “Since I’ve come back, I have faced retaliation and discrimination due to my complaints about all the crookedness I and other inmates continuously have dealt with up here.”

The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Wise County and the City of Norton, Virginia, Brett Hall, said no decision has been made regarding any charges.

“We have a great working relationship with the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) and will continue to do so,” he wrote. “These matters, just like any others, take time and require extensive review of the facts and the law.”