Originally published in the Winter/Spring 2025 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 76, printed March 26. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Winter/Spring 2025 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

Last October, long-time prisoner-activist Kevin “Rashid” Johnson broke the story that men held at the notorious Red Onion Supermax prison in southwestern Virginia were setting themselves on fire in a desperate attempt to get transferred out of that hellhole. The story, first carried by Prison News and The Virginia Defender, brought national attention to the prison. Many organizations, nonprofits and the Legislative Black Caucus of the Virginia General Assembly called on the state Department of Corrections to investigate—in other words, calling on the perpetrator to investigate itself. The result was predictable: VADOC insisted there was no problem.

The Defenders took a different approach. We organized a public meeting that drew more than 100 people to hear reports from Red Onion prisoners about the conditions that led to the self-immolations. We held a rally at the State Capitol to demand the prison be shut down, the top administrators be fired and an independent investigative agency be established – with enforcement powers, unlike the new “ombudsman” office.

But months later, nothing has changed. In late March, Rashid reported that men were still setting themselves on fire at the prison. (See his report here.) As a result, he reports, his phone use has been restricted and he believes that mail sent to him from the outside is being intercepted.

For our part, the Defenders will continue to publicize the conditions in Virginia’s prisons, jails and detention centers until the general public decides it will no longer tolerate modern-day slavery and the daily abuse of those held in the state’s dungeons. If you’d like to help, email the Defenders Prisoners Support Committee at DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text us at 804-644-5834.