‘Dangerously understaffed:’ Inmates describe fear and violence behind Red Onion’s walls

Dontae Ebron’s family has been on edge.

A physical altercation last summer at Red Onion State Prison, where he is incarcerated, left them deeply concerned for his safety, his brother Dominic said in an email.

Ebron alleges that officers used excessive force on him last July, but the complaint he filed was deemed “unfounded.” Copies of paperwork he mailed to The Mercury confirm that he was sprayed with mace and force was used on him, though he disputes the details of what the document says happened.

According to Ebron’s complaint, correctional officers assaulted him by spraying mace into his cell and bending his arm and fingers through the cell’s tray slot. After officers escorted him for medical attention, he alleged that he wasn’t given water to rinse off the mace and that an officer tripped him, slamming his face to the ground.

Prison paperwork tells a different story. The official report states that force was appropriately used because Ebron’s arm had been “out of the tray slot.” It also claims that he was “offered decontamination” but refused. As for the body slamming, the report says it happened because Ebron “pulled away from staff and attempted to spit.”

But Ebron, in a letter to The Mercury, says that’s not what happened, and that he was “spitting because they maced me and never let me get any water.”

He’s since asked for security camera footage of the incident to be preserved, believing it will confirm his version of events as well as the officers’ actions.

“Speaking for myself, I know I haven’t been nowhere near perfect, but that doesn’t mean my rights as a human should be discarded,” he wrote.

Ebron is serving a 30 year sentence for a murder he committed during an armed robbery in 2005 when he was 20 years old.

He is one of several Red Onion inmates who have spoken with the media or prison reform advocates over the past year, sharing stories of mistreatment and poor living conditions. Allegations range from excessive force and prolonged isolation to delayed medical care. Accusations of racism and religious discrimination have also surfaced.

Last fall, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) confirmed that at least six inmates burned themselves — though advocates claim that number is higher. Some inmates and advocates say the burns were acts of protest, desperation, or attempts to secure transfers to other facilities.

Speaking at a December 2024 meeting of the state legislature’s Public Safety Committee, VADOC Director Chad Dotson dismissed the idea that self-harm was a form of protest.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever that there was any kind of a plot or a protest,” Dotson said. “All the inmates involved said they did it because they wanted to get away from Red Onion. Two of these have a history of self-harm.”

Red Onion inmate Ekong Eshiet, who is serving time for a 2018 malicious wounding charge, said in an audio recording by Prison Radio — a group that amplifies the voices of incarcerated people — that he was among those who set themselves on fire.

He hoped the act would force a transfer out of the facility and said he had also protested his treatment through a hunger strike. Eshiet has described discrimination from officers.

Eshiet also described his situation as being “in fear for my life.”

In a separate message to The Mercury sent via JPay, an email service for incarcerated people, he raised concerns about continued access to email and the potential for retaliation against those speaking out amid the growing scrutiny on the prison.

An investigation into Red Onion by the state’s new corrections ombudsman is pending, while an internal review is also underway at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Chesterfield County, where a fire broke out during an outbreak last month. However state reports have already identified one issue that may be contributing to problems across Virginia’s prison system: staffing shortages.

‘Critically and dangerously understaffed’

A November 2024 report to state lawmakers confirmed that staffing levels in Virginia’s correctional facilities remain dangerously low, with “very few” educational programs operating and some facilities unable to provide the legally-required out-of-cell time for inmates. The consulting firm CGL concluded that many of the VADOC’s facilities are “critically and dangerously understaffed.”

While Dotson said that Red Onion specifically had a staff vacancy rate of 9% in late December, the November report from CGL indicated widespread staffing issues in VADOC.

“This lack of staff impacts every aspect of facility operations and results in facilities that are unsafe,” the report stated.

While Virginia doesn’t technically use the term “solitary confinement,” it has what state code refers to as “ restorative housing .” This form of Isolation is intended for inmates who pose a threat to themselves or others, but advocates have long raised concerns about its prolonged use.

A 2023 state law requires that inmates in restrictive housing receive four hours per day out of their cells — something that, according to the report, is not always happening. Without identifying the facility, the report noted: “Effectively, at one site visited, nearly the entire population had been in Restricted Housing status for an extended period of time at the time of our site visit.”

At Red Onion, the “Step Down Program” is designed to help inmates transition out of restrictive housing. According to Dotson, more than 120 people were enrolled in the program by the end of last year, and over 300 have completed it in the past six years.

“I’m giving you a way to get away from Red Onion — behave,” Dotson said during a presentation at the December committee meeting.

However, a class action lawsuit filed by the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union argues that despite the program’s stated purpose, inmates are still being confined longer “than is justified.”

Current and formerly incarcerated individuals have told The Mercury that lockdowns are a frequent occurrence in Virginia prisons — sometimes triggered by fights for security reasons, other times seemingly used as a method of population control when staffing is low.

During a late January phone call with The Mercury, Kevin Rashid Johnson appeared to experience one firsthand. As he spoke, sirens blared in the background, signaling the start of a lockdown he said before the call ended.

Johnson, who previously led a hunger strike at Red Onion, is now incarcerated at Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Oakwood and has been in several facilities around Virginia amid his life sentence for murder. He was one of the first to alert reporters and activists about the men who burned themselves last year and has been vocal in his dissatisfaction with Dotson’s response.

“This man goes in the media, ‘Oh, it’s just (inmates) being manipulative,’” Johnson paraphrased. “Who the hell is going to set themselves on fire trying to be manipulative? That goes to one of the most primal fears in man — fire.”

Without naming Johnson or specific advocates, Dotson dismissed their pushback when confirming the burnings, calling them “bad-faith efforts to try to score cheap political points by advocacy groups.”

Johnson, however, urges people to consider what drives someone to harm themselves in the first place. A Black man incarcerated in Southwest Virginia, Johnson says his time in prison has been marked by racism from a system largely staffed by white officers.

With a formal investigation into Red Onion on the horizon, Johnson remains skeptical of what, if anything, will change.

Corrections Ombudsman Andrea Sapone stepped into her role last September, and by December she was already hearing from members of the legislature’s Corrections Oversight and Public Safety committees, as well as members of the public advocating for their incarcerated loved ones. In response, she announced plans to streamline the complaint process for future investigations and plans to launch an inquiry into Red Onion. As of late February, her office has filled four of the five positions needed to carry that investigation.

However, Johnson sees an inherent conflict of interest in the process. Since Sapone works for the state, he believes an independent third party should handle the investigation.

Others, meanwhile, see Sapone’s position — created through legislation — as a step toward meaningful oversight and accountability in the prison system.

‘High rehabilitative needs’

Flames appear to have quite literally ignited at a juvenile facility in Virginia.

Transcripts from a 911 call obtained by The Richmond Times-Dispatch detail a chaotic scene on Feb. 9 at Bon Air Correctional Center, where a “jailbreak of sorts” unfolded. A group of minors gained control of their housing unit and started a fire, while the sole guard on duty barricaded herself in her office to call for backup. State police responded with pepperball guns to regain control of the situation.

An internal investigation is underway, and “charges are pending,” according to Department of Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Melodie Martin. She noted that many youth housed at Bon Air have committed violent crimes.

“This is a very challenging population with high rehabilitative needs. Occasionally, some of the behavior exhibited in the community repeats itself in the facility,” Martin said in an email. “This is to be expected through the therapeutic process, and we support and thank the dedicated staff who invest in this high need population.”

But advocates argue that incidents like the one on Feb. 9 might also stem from persistent concerns about living and working conditions that they have warned about for years.

Martin declined to disclose specific staffing numbers but said vacancies at Bon Air dropped by 39% between January and June of last year. She added that the Feb. 9 call for assistance was “not based on staffing,” but rather the department’s protocol prohibiting the use of “chemical agents or other law enforcement tools” on facility residents — leaving state police to deploy pepperball guns instead.

But, much like VADOC, allegations have surfaced that low staffing levels may contribute to unsafe conditions for both employees and residents, as well as reduced access to rehabilitative programming.

Staff exit surveys obtained by the Legal Aid Justice Center and advocacy group Rise For Youth reveal mounting frustrations among former employees.

“Y’all ask for too much being that we’re always on single coverage,” one survey from Feb. 22, 2024, read. “(I am) tired of getting drafted everyday.”

Another former employee expressed concern about how staffing shortages impact the youth at Bon Air.

“Residents on the existing side of campus are constantly locked down due to staff shortage which is completely inhumane. If my child were locked up at this facility, as a parent, I would be extremely upset about the dynamic,” a respondent wrote in a survey dated March 11, 2024.

They added that staff are “overworked and underpaid” and that the staffing crisis poses a direct security risk.

Interviews conducted by the Legal Aid Justice Center with some Bon Air inmates revealed that school has not always been available to them and many feel they are frequently in a state of “lockdown.”

Both staff and incarcerated youth “are hurting,” said Valeria Slater, director of Rise For Youth. She wasn’t surprised by the February outbreak of violence among some.

“If you are not providing all that’s necessary for these young people to truly be successful, then there is going to be deterioration — it’s a natural consequence,” she said “So when the fire broke out, I mean, how was it not anticipated that eventually it would boil over?”

For former Department of Juvenile Justice Director Andrew Block, the situation is troubling.

“My heart goes out to the staff and kids who I’m sure are incredibly stressed and scared and exhausted,” he said.

Del. Rae Cousins, D-Richmond, has been gathering feedback from families of incarcerated individuals in both adult and juvenile facilities since taking office last year. When it comes to the Department of Juvenile Justice, she said the response from officials does not seem to align with the concerns raised by families or the documented complaints from former staff.

“It’s sort of like two different accounts,” Cousins said, adding that she wants to get to the bottom of the discrepancies.

Both Cousins and Block believe the Commission on Youth could play a role in addressing these issues, whether through focused hearings or a formal study to explore legislative or departmental actions.

“I am gathering information from advocates and plan to speak with the commission members in the next month or so,” Cousins said.

Potential solutions so far

While targeted reforms for facilities like Red Onion and Bon Air may be on the horizon, broader legislative efforts to improve conditions in Virginia’s correctional system are also underway.

Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, and Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax, sponsored measures aimed at reforming how facilities handle restrictive or solitary housing. The legislation requires that before an individual is placed in a restrictive setting, they must first be considered for a less-severe alternative. If isolation is deemed necessary, they must undergo both physical and mental evaluations.

Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax, a co-patron on the bill, voiced concerns that restrictive housing often perpetuates itself — trapping people in a cycle where declining mental health makes it even harder for them to adjust their behavior and transition out of isolation.

During a visit to Red Onion and Wallens Ridge facilities last summer, Seibold was “shocked” by the numbers of people held in solitary conditions. While state law mandates that such incarcerated individuals receive time outside their cells, she was troubled by the way the policy was being applied.

“They were technically outside, but in cage-like structures,” Seibold said. “ That was really disturbing. Yes, they’re outside, but they’re still isolated in a cage. So to me, that’s still a continuation of solitary.”

The current law requiring out-of-cell time was signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2023. Now, the new bill aimed at expanding solitary reforms awaits his decision.

If signed, advocates say, the law would impact both youth and adult correctional facilities.

“It says ‘persons in correctional center centers’ — that means Bon Air counts,” Slater said.

Another measure from Bagby, which passed with bipartisan support, seeks to prohibit the shackling of youth during court proceedings. Under current law, juveniles can be restrained in court regardless of their behavior or the nature of their offense — a practice that several states have already outlawed.

As young people first enter the criminal justice system, some advocates argue that keeping them out of incarceration altogether could reduce the likelihood of future offenses.

Tom Woods, an associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, believes Virginia could reinstate criminal justice reforms he helped shape more than a decade ago.

A decade ago, then- Department of Juvenile Justice Director Andrew Block consulted with Woods to reform how long certain offenders were confined in correctional facilities, diverting some to probation programs that allowed them to remain with their families.

The goal, they explained, was twofold: to prevent unnecessary incarceration and to create a more manageable staff-to-resident ratio in facilities.

“Every day and every hour” in juvenile facilities needs to be directed towards rehabilitation and preparing those in custody to leave, Woods said.

Since then, leadership changes have brought policy shifts , moving away from those reforms. But Woods argues that reinstating them could not only improve outcomes for youth but also help ease Bon Air’s staffing struggles.

“It takes a certain kind of person and time to get the right people in the right positions,” Woods said. “If you’re already feeling the pressure in terms of the population as it is, you need to look for ways to reduce that pressure quickly.”

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