In a fact-finding mission spurred by rumors of abuse and self-burnings at a Virginia supermax prison, a Richmond legislator toured the facility firsthand this week, renewing calls for oversight.
Del. Michael Jones, D-Richmond, released a statement on Tuesday evening saying that he had conducted an unannounced tour of Red Onion State Prison in response to recent events, which include prisoners saying they had lit themselves on fire in response to racism from prison staff.
Virginia’s prisons chief Chad Dotson has called the allegations “ludicrous,” saying that a handful of prisoners with a history of self-harm had burned themselves using electrical outlets at the prison.
Read the full story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
