Please join us on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2-4:30pm at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church (1720 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223) for the first public expression of concern about the ongoing crisis at Red Onion. Hear first-hand accounts of the conditions from the prisoners – and learn what you can do to help.

THE CRISIS:

Over the past few months, men held at the Red Onion supermax prison in rural western Virginia have taken the desperate step of setting themselves on fire in order to try and force their transfer out of that notorious hellhole.

Although the warden denied this had happened, the Defenders were able to prove that at least two men had indeed set themselves on fire. (See the story here.) The Department of Corrections later admitted to Radio IQ that at least five men had set themselves on fire. The prisoners themselves say as many as a dozen men took this action.Red Onion is an infamous prison that has been the subject of reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, many news stories and numerous lawsuits. The Defender newspaper regularly receives letters from prisoners there about racism, brutality, the arbitrary use of various kinds of punishments and more.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

There needs to be an independent, outside investigation into the conditions at Red Onion that have led prisoners to subject themselves to great harm and pain in order to try and get transferred to a different prison. And we need to make sure that these men are not being retaliated against for trying to get out of an intolerable situation.

At the request of the prisoners, the Defenders are working to bring public attention to this crisis. Just appealing to the Department of Corrections is unlikely to produce any meaningful results, so we are opening a campaign to convince members of the Virginia General Assembly to go to Red Onion, talk with the prisoners, see for themselves the reality there and then issue a public report.

The immediate goal is to ensure the safety of the prisoners and expose the conditions that have led to the current crisis. The ultimate goal is to have Red Onion shut down. But to accomplish any of this, there must be strong community pressure.Whatever crimes these men may have committed, they are still our brothers, our sons, our fathers and our fellow human beings. They have sent out a ferocious cry for help. It’s up to us to respond.

NOTE: From 2-3 pm we will show the documentary film “Up the Ridge,” a gripping look inside Virginia’s other supermax prison, Wallens Ridge. The meeting itself will begin at 3 pm.For more information, email the Defenders at DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text 804-644-5834.

Please RSVP on Facebook here.

Post-meeting edit: This meeting was recorded. See the video on our Facebook, here.