Virginia prisons have never had a good reputation by any stretch. Racist staff, a long history of abusive staff which continues to this day, dilapidated buildings where prisoners are crammed into overcrowded spaces, and an extensive list of medical violations are just some of the past–and very current–problems that seem more policy than negligence or folly.
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Drugs in prison have forever been an issue, and it is well-documented that such contraband is most often provided by prison staff. In the VADOC, it has become so much of a problem that even the least suspicious person would be forced to question whether or not it was deliberate, given the daily growing number of overdoses and deaths. When you become aware that the VADOC refuses to acknowledge that its staff are the main culprits–based on most evidence and reports–even as the bodies of the dead pile up, its being deliberate–even with harmful intent–must be considered.
Dilwyn Corruption Center is a prime example of warranted suspicions, averaging three to five overdoses each week, yet adhering to every useless VADOC policy in place to stop drugs from coming in. As I write this, we are several days into yet another compoundwide lockdown. As is always the case, prisoners are getting high without regard or concern, before, during, and after a shakedown of their pod.
Prison officials, from the warden, Mr. P. White, down the drain have zero control, but moreso they have created an environment of such hopelessness and oppression that most people would rather get high. A “why bother” attitude permeates the whole compound.
The current lockdown is a reaction to yet one more overdose death. This occurred in a building that is almost always on lockdown as a result of daily or weekly overdoses. That same building, even when on constant lockdown and cut off from everything, has an ever-flowing supply of drugs. That instance alone tells you exactly where the supply is coming from, for it can only come from one place: staff. Every building has a fairly free-flowing supply of drugs, and in fact, drugs are easier to acquire than scotch tape–quite literally.
There is an even more insidious and rarely talked about aspect to this tragic story. Local and state officials are completely up to date on what the problem is, who is involved, and the cause of the problem. In fact, it would be entirely too difficult to ignore when your prison staff are regularly going through Norcan like Lifesavers candy–pun intended. It is also ever more difficult to hide hospital runs and phone calls to families made by prisoners who do more to look out for each other than staff are willing or able to do. This implies a level of complicity at least, and much more at worst.
More dead prisoners, whether from the VADOC-created prison drug epidemic or from the usual–and historical–denial of other proper care (medical, dietary, etc.), is the VADOC legacy. It is the only thing being provided by this $1.5 billion per year monster. It is statistically among the most failed systems in the United States, and that is an extension of the state’s totally archaic justice system, as well as a continuation of its centuries-old policies of an economy that is, rather openly, based on profit from captives and the trafficking of captives.
As long as the VADOC is allowed to continue, dead bodies by its hands will pile up in the hopeless environments of its prisons.
David J. Annarelli #1853637
Dillwyn Correctional Center
1522 Prison Road
Dillwyn, VA 23936
