Records show Virginia Department of Corrections staff were tasked with investigating claims of “brutality,” “racism” and “retaliation” at Red Onion State Prison in Wise County — and they quickly reported they found “no staff misconduct.”
VPM News made a Freedom of Information Act request for text messages and emails from prison officials and Red Onion’s warden, David Anderson, most of which were withheld or redacted.
The ones that were shared reveal that Anderson formed a task force to probe alleged misconduct at the prison he runs. They also show details about additional self-burning incidents at other Virginia state prisons and how Red Onion staff responded to them.
“Sending him to ER. He still has pulse in it. Says he burnt it Thursday night but won’t tell us how,” a Feb. 17 text to Anderson reads. “He burnt it then wrapped toilet paper with feces on it the[n] put tourniquets on it. I’ve not got pics yet.”
“Damn,” Anderson replied.
The records come as families and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia continue to raise concerns over the conditions at Red Onion, including claims of an ongoing, prolonged lockdown.
“We will take care of it”
Anderson got an email on Dec. 26, 2024, about the new allegations from VADOC, according to the records obtained by VPM News.
The Corrections Ombudsman unit within the state inspector general’s office had shared the claims with VADOC Director Chad Dotson six days earlier. “OSIG is only requesting a response back if staff misconduct is discovered,” the email read.
A VADOC staffer emailed OSIG’s message to Anderson, writing: “Additional concerns received by OSIG. Sharing for informational purposes and updating to their office as appropriate.”
“We will take care of it,” Anderson replied to Dotson.
Anderson wrote in a Dec. 27, 2024, text message that he’d formed a task force led by Capt. Christopher Gilbert to look into 13 complaints sent to Corrections Ombudsman Andrea Sapone in the last 14 hours and future allegations.
The records show that Anderson forwarded Gilbert the email from VADOC about the allegations on Dec. 30. The next day, Gilbert emailed Anderson that they investigated and found “no staff misconduct.”
The emails came after Sapone announced she would prioritize an investigation into Red Onion over reports that people incarcerated there were intentionally burning themselves to protest the facility’s conditions.
OSIG spokesperson Maggie Sotos told VPM News that the ombudsman unit investigates allegations “after the DOC's internal grievance process has been exhausted.”
“The instruction about only responding back if staff misconduct was discovered was to streamline the communication process between VADOC and OSIG, and leave our channels open for discussions around substantiated allegations,” Sotos wrote in an email.
When asked if it’s typical for VADOC to wrap up an investigation as the emails suggest, Sotos told VPM News that question was “better answered by VADOC, since it involves their internal grievance process and how those matters are evaluated.”
The Department of Corrections did not respond by publication time.
“I think that the general understanding among the incarcerated population, certainly at Red Onion, is that staff are not going to be held accountable,” Geri Greenspan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU–VA, told VPM News when asked about how they view internal investigations.
Sapone’s unit was receiving many complaints throughout December 2024, but was unable to investigate because it didn’t have a full staff of specialists hired then, Sotos said.
“To ensure that complaints were not lost during this transitional period (and to comply with Code), the Ombudsman Unit recorded and contacted VADOC about each received complaint in order to verify which allegations should stay with us vs. which should go to VADOC,” she wrote in an email.
Sotos told VPM News that the emails sent last December between OSIG and VADOC were “standard procedure” to see if VADOC received internal grievance forms or to see if the department’s investigative unit was aware.
The allegations shared then are “being handled separately” from the ombudsman’s ongoing investigation of Red Onion.
“It’s how they get attention right now”
Anderson sent and received multiple text messages about self-burning incidents, per the FOIA records. That includes one text in January mentioning two incidents and two other messages on reported burnings — the Feb. 17 text about a burning at Red Onion and another in March about an incident at a prison in Sussex County.
In an April 9 court statement, Red Onion Assistant Warden Dwayne Turner attested that there were eight self-burnings in 2024 and one on Jan. 12 of this year. He added that no one incarcerated at Red Onion had burned themselves using a power outlet since the prison distributed “safety agreements” on Jan. 20.
The agreements required men held at Red Onion to commit to not hurting themselves and acknowledge they have access to mental health services — or the power to the outlets in their cells would be shut off.
According to Turner’s affidavit, 13 men in the Step-Down Program refused to sign the agreement.
A message sent to Anderson says that one person who set his cell on fire burned his leg, but didn’t need to go offsite for treatment. While the date is not included on the text, the message mentions that the man “had signed the agreement, so his outlet was on and he used wires to start the fire.”
“I know we don’t want this happening, but it’s going to happen,” the message to Anderson reads. “It’s how they get attention right now.”
The warden responded in multiple messages: “True”; “Make sure they keep his power off”; “Any more does it and we’ll cut all C bldgs [p]ower off.”
VADOC did not respond to questions about how many people incarcerated in Virginia have intentionally burned themselves since the department announced at least six incidents at Red Onion.
Text messages show that staff suggested to Anderson that correctional officers carry portable fire extinguishers, which they described as “outside the box.”
The records also show that Johnny Hall, Red Onion’s chief of security, texted Anderson that he saw emails where people called for Hall to be fired. VADOC and Anderson did not answer whether Hall was still employed at Red Onion.
“The staff often treat us like we are incarcerated”
Loved ones and friends of men incarcerated at Red Onion said they’ve heard racist remarks and dealt with retaliation and “demeaning” behavior from prison staff in the past.
Two women said Red Onion and other state prisons have been on lockdown since three correctional officers at Wallens Ridge State Prison — located in Big Stone Gap, just over 30 miles from Red Onion — were stabbed by MS-13 gang members in early May. Greenspan, the ACLU–VA attorney, told VPM News that men incarcerated at Red Onion told her last week that the prison was on lockdown.
VADOC did not respond when asked whether Red Onion or any other prisons have been placed on lockdown.
In-person visits at Red Onion “will be conducted as scheduled,” but video visits have been canceled until May 26, according to VADOC's website; Wallens Ridge and Sussex I state prisons have canceled visits “until further notice.”
Alison Chaffin, Virginia’s co-representative for the Survivors 4 Justice Reform coalition, said her fiancé, Tay, has been incarcerated at Red Onion since 2022 and in solitary confinement since early April.
Chaffin, who spoke about Tay while addressing state lawmakers and VADOC leaders last December, asked VPM News not to publish his name out of fear of retaliation.
With reports of self-burnings and a hunger strike at Red Onion, Chaffin said not being allowed to talk with loved ones during prolonged lockdowns adds to families’ fears over their safety. It’s also disrupted Tay’s daily routine to help his son with his homework, she said.
“It’s hard to explain to a 10-year-old why dad hasn’t called,” Chaffin said. “We’re separated by them physically, but they’re a huge emotional support and they’re still part of our family.”
Chaffin told VPM News she understands the need to maintain security and she’s sorry for the guards who were attacked, but she doesn’t “believe in collective punishment.”
One woman, Sandy Miles, told VPM News she’s heard “derogatory, racial slurs” from some corrections officers while on the phone with her close friend incarcerated at Red Onion.
“Why was Red Onion locked down? We have heard nothing about why Red Onion was locked down,” Miles said in an interview.
The ACLU–VA is representing plaintiffs at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge in a class action lawsuit seeking to end VADOC’s Step-Down Program — a restrictive housing unit where prisoners are kept in their cell for up to 20 hours a day.
Greenspan said conditions in the program have “not improved and are possibly becoming more harsh.” She told VPM News that people in the program have complained about not consistently getting outdoor recreational time and being shackled while being taken to the showers.
“When they're not given outdoor recreation, if they're given out of cell time, it's table recreation, which is where they're handcuffed, shackled and chained to a table for four hours straight,” she said. “And that's their recreation opportunity.”
Chaffin said VADOC staff treats her differently when she advocates for others in prison from when she reaches out as Tay’s fiancée, describing some of the interactions as “demeaning.”
“To be honest, the staff often treat us like we are incarcerated. Like we did something. There’s something wrong with us for loving someone who made a mistake.”
