Inmates At Virginia's Red Onion State Prison Stage Hunger Strike Over Mistreatment

It is usual for prisoners to get abused inside the prisons. The extent of mistreatment sometimes becomes severe and unbearable for the inmates. In a recent development, prisoners who are kept in the Red Onion State prison in Virginia, US, have decided to stage a hunger strike to voice against the mistreatment and the dire condition of the prison. The prison is known for its harsh punishments but the severity level has surpassed resulting in the protest.

According to several reports, the prison officials used to deliberately cut the water supplies of the cells. The inmates were forced to drink water from their unclean toilet bowl which resulted in several diseases and sickness. The prison officials are responsible for taking care of all the amenities but the reposts stated that the inmates were not provided with anything. They were not even provided with amenities to maintain their hygiene. Several inmates were hospitalised due to dehydration as they were not provided with adequate drinking water. To stand against these mistreatments and the dire condition of the cells the inmates staged a hunger strike.

The Red Onion State Prison is located in Wise County, Virginia. The prison consists of two facilities and is known to house some of the most notorious inmates in the country. Built-in the year 1998, the Red Onion State Prise houses over 800 inmates. The prison is also known as a supermax prison.

The prison is called supermax prison as many dangerous inmates are kept here. Many prisoners here are kept in solitary confinement. Kyle Gibson, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Corrections, stated, “Currently, there are seven inmates who are staging the hunger strike at Red Onion State Prison. These hunger strikes have individual goals, meaning each inmate has a specific reason for the strike.”

According to several reports, a large number of inmates fell ill due to such mistreatments which sparked this protest. Some news of mysterious deaths were also reported which include the death of inmate Anwar Phillips and Jowell Travis Le Gendre.