IN A RANDOM SURVEY VIRGINIA PRISONERS CALL FOR SHUTTING DOWN RED ONION AND WALLENS RIDGE STATE PRISONS (2025) by Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

On Jan 17, 2025 I spoke with Phil Wilayto, the editor of the Virginia Defender newspaper. As many know, Phil supported and endorsed the call to shut down Virginia’s remote and notoriously racist and abusive super maximum security prisons, Red Onion and Wallens Ridge.

Phil shared with me something I already was aware of, namely that certain advocacy groups and individuals who have a vested relationship with Va officials or economic interest tied into not offending them, were criticising and distancing themselves from the Jan 8, 2025 Richmond rally calling for the closure of these prisons; that indeed, they were resisting the calls for their closure in general. That they joined with proposals that the VaDOC be allowed to investigate and reform itself.

A proposal as absurd as having a mother fox guard her own pups for a henhouse.

I had already called these people and groups out and distinguished myself from them in my calls to create PAPA (or People Against Prison Abuse), as a prisoner support group consisting of people who genuinely cared about and are personally vested in us prisoners, namely our loved ones. People who when brought together are unafraid of the system and won’t be readily bought off with monetary appeals over the lives and well being of those they love. I explained that these professional and career advocacy groups and people don’t typically speak for those of us on the inside, although they posture and profess to.

None of those groups have asked what we want, whether we believe reform of these longstanding abusive and unneeded prisons is viable. Without that inquiry they DEFINITELY can’t claim to speaking for us.

Our voices are the ones that matter. It has been us and our peers who’ve hunger striked and incinerated ourselves in desperate response to the abusive conditions at these remote prisons. It is we who know of and have suffered the innumerable outrages and inhumane abuses at these prisons. Because this is so and to show who speaks for us, I conducted a random survey on the morning of Jan 19, 2025, among the prisoners in my 44-cell cellblock here at Va’s Keen Mountain prison. Every prisoner I questioned, except only one, has been confined at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge or know about them from their reputations.

I told each one about the push to shut down these prisons, and asked whether they sided with the view that they could and should be investigated and reformed or should they be shut down. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE PRISONER I asked said, “Shut them down!” with emphasis. Out of over 50 men only one said reform them, one declined to be named or respond, two said they wanted to pray on it, and ALL THE REST said shut them down. Out of over fifty men only four didn’t say shut them down.

Several of those that I questioned went into discussing why they called for shutting them down instead of reform. Most said the long history of racism, abuse and exposure should have led to reforms long ago IF REFORMS WERE POSSIBLE. Hence they were not. Many of those I questioned are whites who’ve been housed at the Red Onion and/or Wallens Ridge. Many of them voluntarily pointed out that racism was prominent at these prisons. As said, only five prisoners didn’t call to shut these prisons down. Below are the listed names of all the prisoners who I questioned and said they call to shut these prisons down and agreed to be named in my report:

1. Christopher Albert #1002523
2. Antwon Whitten #1138537
3. Matthew Dowdy #1049105
4. David Kaiser #1195955
5. Ramsuer Laronn #1413973
6. Jerome Mallory #1156460
7. James Canter #1871544
8 Dean Anderson #1080959
9. James Glass Jr #1141248
10. D. Hericks #1081633
11. Charlie Poole #1105461
12. James Alexander Moore #1006424
13. James McPeak #1107235
14. Randy Knapp #2110550
15. Keith Fitzgerald #1188057
16. Sterling Dawson #1046485
17. Melvin Olson #1192277
18. Lamont Dorsey #1230831
19. Edward Marshall #1129693
20. Justin Britton #1568199
21. Jason Clem #1185220
22. Chad Hairson #1438542
23. Nathan Washington #1205174
24. Randolph Smith #2046472
25. Travis Spence #1430207
26. Kyle Wilmoth #1991086
27. Lam Dang #1453607
28. Hugo Sanchez #1007289
29. Sixto Laines 1204541
30. Ricardo Chavez #2005497
31. Keith Gilliard #1410067
32. Randall Via #1084857
33. Jack Lewis #1848992
34. Billy Hall #1401940
35. Ryan Markham #1466542
36. David VonEime #1024541
37. Aaron Thomas #1468474
38. B. Wade #1043888
39. Calvin Bond Watson #1047759
40. Angelo Aviles #2065224
41. Michael Iseman #1567868
42. Ronald Morehouse #2014554
43. Micah Patterson #1492067
44. Corinthian Sublett #1633710
45. John Daniel #1590573
46. William Gutersloh #1197603

46 prisoners out of 51 who I randomly asked whether they believe Red Onion and Wallens Ridge should be investigated and reformed or shut down, said, “Shut them down!” I didn’t even know most of these prisoners. This sampling ranges from practicing Christians and Muslims, and other religious tendencies, transgendered people, Blacks, Whites and Browns, loners, lumpen group members, and so on. I don’t doubt that a number of them are informants who’ll be reporting me first chance they get. In any case, the pool of respondents are a random cross-section representative of everyone locked inside these prisons, and the response was nearly unanimous – shut Red Onion and Wallens Ridge down. When given a voice the voiceless speak as one!

Dare to Struggle Dare to Win!

All Power to the People