Hello, this is Virginia DOC Lawrenceville, the Virginia Model: Threats to Safety (Part 3). Today is July 21, 2025. It’s a Monday.
The concerns about safety and well-being are widespread across Virginia Department of Corrections. There are no shortage of reports. And it would seem that almost everyone is aware of the endless nightmares, trauma, and harm being caused. Lawrenceville, the Virginia DOC’s recent marketing ploy, has become ground zero for the Virginia DOC’s Virginia Model. As explained in parts one and two of this series, as well as several other articles, the Virginia Model was originally based on actual reforms in Florida and Texas, as well, supposedly, as European models of low security, “incentive prisons.”
The quickly exposed problem is that the Virginia DOC is not actually providing any of the incentives from the other models, and therefore had no choice but to start flip-flopping, changing the name to the Virginia Model. Here, in part three of these series, we conclude a set of examples, all from a short five hour period of one day at Lawrenceville, and a solid example of what the Virginia Model is truly about. As pointed out — using industrial dead bolts on cell doors is a severe violation of the law, fire and safety codes, against orders issued twice by the Fire Marshal; and the use of untrained dogs in a live situation and the using of captives in a dog training exercise, again violating the safety of the captives and the laws.
The icing on the cake of abusive nightmares was the approximately four hours in a concrete box with a metal roof: the Lawrenceville gymnasium on a 108o day. It was easily 120 degrees in that box. And it is worthy of note that on a 91o day, 91o heat index, Lawrenceville guards will refuse to let people outside, citing, “health concerns.” Large style stage fans and open doors did nothing to stave off the dangerous heat. It was absolutely unnecessary, and our pod, number 62, was the only pod put through such inappropriate treatment and threats to safety. That day is the example and hallmark of the Virginia Model. The reason was to strip search us, a form of legalized sexual assault, and which is usually done in the cell before it is searched. Again, no one else went through this except two to three cells per pod, “randomly selected.” It was also entirely unexpected, because Lawrenceville was promised to be the end of Virginia DOC abuses. It is a constant abuse, in fact, the same as every other prison in the state. So being faced—forced, excuse me, forced into a hot box for hours on end comes as no surprise.
Lawrenceville so far is a lie. The Virginia DOC is doing nothing to solve its endless problems, such as to eliminate all GEO Group [private prison company] remnants, or to care for the captives whose lives are quite seriously at risk. It is not enough for politicians to give quotes to Virginia media outlets, such as Senator David Marsden, Virginia Public Media on June 27, 2025. You all know that something is very terribly wrong with the Virginia DOC. It is not only at Red Onion [and] Wallens Ridge, but the entire Virginia DOC which has become a death trap. That is not hyperbole. It is a fact. It is a fact exposed almost every week, and in dozens of ways; numerous reports. It is long past due that change be made to happen. If that change does not happen, expect more dead captives, and more captives will be forced to light themselves on fire just to make people stop and look, as they did at Red Onion, in the hopes that they are care enough and, for only a moment, to act. My name is David Annarelli. I’m a contributing writer for prisonjournalismproject.org, davidatarelli.wordpress.com, Instagram @david_annarelli. Thank you very much.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
