Virginia prison conditions

The inhumanity of Virginia’s prisons knows no limits. The experiences of Neil Lyness aka Turbo proves the case. Neil is a double-amputee who lost his left arm and left leg in a motorcycle accident. He’s been confined since 2012, where … Read the rest

 The Virginia legislature created an ombudsman’s office in July 2024, charged with overseeing and investigating the Virginia prison system. Andrea Sapone was appointed as ombudsman that September. The creation of this office was backed by advocacy groups who believed the … Read the rest

THROUGH COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT VIRGINIA OFFICIALS PROMPT PRISONERS TO
VIOLENTLY POLICE EACH OTHER (2025)

By Kevin "Rashid" Johnson

If anyone needed further confirmation that Virgina's top officials can't be
trusted to safely run the state's prisons, their recently created policy of

On May 24, 2025 a second rally will be held in downtown Richmond, Virginia against abuses in the state’s remote prisons.

We are calling to shut down the state’s two supermax prisons Red Onion and Wallens Ridge, notorious for racism … Read the rest

Virginia’s rural prisons came into the spotlight in 2024, after several prisoners at Red Onion State Prison, myself included, went on prolonged hunger strikes protesting abusive conditions there, then a dozen more set themselves on fire in desperate efforts to … Read the rest

The following is the second part of an interview with Kevin “Rashid” Johnson by James K. Anderson a member of the IWW Freelance Journalist Union. The first part was titled, “Striking Back Against Prison Slavery.”

JAMES ANDERSON: In the first … Read the rest

FOR EDUCATIONAL AND MEDIA PURPOSES

Welcome to InsideOutsideUnity, a project of BP Publishers to expand the political and social knowledge of the incarcerated.

Related to the topic covered in this issue (uses of attack dogs in Virginia prisons), attorneys with … Read the rest

In Oct 2024 the story broke that numerous prisoners at Red Onion State Prison had set themselves on fire in desperate response to racism and abuse at the Virginia prison that has an extensive history of corruption and racism. It … Read the rest