Dear Director Dotson: A Letter from Delegate Holly Seibold
By email
Director Chadwick Dotson
Virginia Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 26963
Richmond, VA 23261
December 6, 2024
Re: Your recent statement on Red Onion State Prison
Dear Director Dotson,
I am writing in response to your recent public statement about the conditions at Red Onion State Prison. While I agree that it is important for more public officials to visit the facility, I believe your suggestion overlooks the deeper, systemic issues at play and fails to address the root causes of the problems that persist within the institution. In your statement, you noted that the Virginia Department of Corrections has extended multiple invitations to legislators to visit Red Onion and other facilities to observe operations and speak with inmates and staff. As someone who visited Red Onion earlier this year, I can assure you that my views on the inhumane conditions at this facility remain unchanged even after my visit.
The widespread and indiscriminate use of solitary confinement at Red Onion is a practice that demands urgent scrutiny. In my visits to multiple correctional facilities this year, including Wallens Ridge, I observed no other institution where solitary confinement is used as extensively as at Red Onion.
A significant portion of Red Onion's population is subjected to being locked in a concrete cell for 20 hours a day. For the remaining four hours, inmates are shackled and placed in a steel cage outdoors, where they are left to stand, sit, or walk in circles. In many cases, inmates have expressed a preference for being shackled to a table in their pod rather than enduring this mandated outdoor "recreation" time. This is not a temporary measure. For many incarcerated individuals, this has been their daily reality for years.
In your statement, you assert that "Virginia needs secure facilities in which to house the Commonwealth's most violent offenders, and Red Onion State Prison serves that purpose." However, during my visits to various prisons this year, I encountered numerous inmates who expressed fear of being sent to Red Onion, regardless of their offense or classification. It seems that any inmate who is perceived to have violated a rule-however subjective-can be transferred to Red Onion. The lack of clear criteria for relocation suggests that Red Onion does not exclusively house the "most violent" offenders, but rather anyone who falls out of line, regardless of the severity of their actions.
Once transferred to Red Onion, especially to the "Restorative Housing" pods, inmates face significant challenges in moving back to lower-level facilities. A recurring theme I heard during my visit was that if inmates in solitary confinement are deemed "good," they might be allowed to rejoin the general population. However, this system is flawed. With virtually all rehabilitative programs and services restricted to those not in solitary, the barriers for inmates in restrictive housing are insurmountable. Those in the general population have access to GED classes, library services, HVAC training, and outdoor recreation. In contrast, those in solitary confinement receive no such services. How are these individuals expected to "eam" their release or demonstrate positive behavioral change under such conditions?
While I am not a mental health expert, it is clear that prolonged isolation-particularly when coupled with physical restraint-has a profound psychological toll. The longer individuals remain in such conditions, the more desperate and disconnected they become. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could be expected to "reform" in this environment. Solitary confinement damages even the most resilient minds.
I must respectfully disagree with your assessment that "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." The evidence suggests that the current approach-relying on punitive measures like solitary confinement-only makes our communities less safe in the long term. Our correctional system should be focused on rehabilitation and preparing individuals for successful reentry into society, not punishing them in ways that leave them broken and isolated.
During my visits, I spoke with many inmates who shared how detrimental solitary confinement has been to their well-being. They described the loss of programs, inadequate ventilation, hunger, extreme temperatures, and the absence of meaningful human contact. Given that about 90% of those incarcerated will eventually return to our communities, we must ask ourselves: Do we want to release individuals who have been subjected to such conditions? Will they be equipped to reintegrate as healthy, contributing members of society, or will they return more damaged and disconnected than before?
I urge you to reconsider the policies that govern solitary confinement at Red Onion, and to prioritize reforms that focus on rehabilitation and the humane treatment of incarcerated individuals. I would also like to ask you to commit to encouraging a deeper investigation by the Ombudsman into the conditions at Red Onion, particularly out of respect for transparency. The investigation should encompass not only the incidents of self-harm reported at the facility, but also the broader conditions and treatment of those incarcerated there by VADOC staff. Finally, I would also like your assurance that inmates who have spoken out about the conditions at any correctional facility, will not be punished further.
It is imperative that we fully understand the extent of these issues so that we can move toward meaningful solutions.
Respectfully,
Holly Seibold
Delegate, 12th District
cc: Speaker Don Scott
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring
Chairman Marcus Simon, House Public Safety Committee