This is “The Virginia Model in Plain Words.” Today is September 2nd, it’s a Tuesday. The Virginia Model, that is the phrase thrown around by Chadwick Dodson, Director of Virginia’s notorious Department of Corrections. Others are using the term as well, and it is the new catch phrase being used to describe changes to the Virginia DOCs prisons and the treatment of captives. All that is a lie, a spin, or both, and what follows is the accurate and verifiable facts of the situation.
The Virginia Model is about a guard at Wallens Ridge shooting Taneak Turner in the face with a rubber bullet, nearly killing him, for stepping on a red line. His parents could barely get basic information, for instance, whether or not Taneak was alive. Just five weeks earlier, guards at Wallens Ridge succeeded in the murder of a fully restrained captive. He was beaten to death. The Virginia Model is that set of examples.
At Lawrenceville, the fabled pruning grounds of the Virginia Model, known and active gang members are openly catered to by staff and administrators. The Lawrenceville Elite, as they are known, have completely taken control of the prison; the jobs, spaces and open programs, the programs themselves and access to resources. Gangsters and their factions now dominate the so-called incentive prison, where, first hand, I can promise you that no incentives exist, and especially not for those captives who have repeatedly earned them. Instead, the administration support criminal behaviors covered up and protected. This includes staff members like the recreation supervisor, Mr. Walker, who has a well known history of being a supplier of deadly fentanyl. The administration is well aware of this and his network of cronies and the problems they are posing. They do nothing to address the problem, which is another example of the Virginia Model. Recently, the staff had to play the old switcheroo with the mass drug test. Dozens failed rather openly, but were listed as passing just to make the Virginia Model look good. This explains how the supervisor is referred to as “untouchable” by other staff — the Virginia Model at work.
Ask medical professionals at Medical College of Virginia who now have many questions about the number of captives coming from Lawrenceville and the terrible health problems they have. The assistant warden recently violated HIPAA laws, specifically an offense that carries five to 10 years, we’re told, as a means of retaliating against a captive known as Mr. Ahmed Hope Murad. That AW [assistant warden] was foolish enough to admit a crime on paper when she filed a false in house charge against Mr. Murad.
Meanwhile, Virginia DOC staff are stealing books from captives at the central mail distribution center. Lawrenceville captives are being prevented from having full access to the United States Postal Service. In fact, they just banned completely the use of sending packages through the United States Postal Service. This is a violation of all sorts of laws. The Virginia DOC recently violated the 1st Amendment when it targeted the email accounts, again, of nonprofit prison reform advocates such as the Coalition for Justice, the 40 Strong, Update, Inside Virginia, and others. This is the Virginia Model.
The Virginia Model is dead and seriously wounded captives. The Virginia Model is poor vetting of captives based on actual facts and not their ability to curry favor. The Virginia Model is the continued mismanagement of facilities and resources. It is sickness, poor care and administrators who commit criminal acts side by side with their subordinates. The Virginia Model. It is not prison reform, but instead, it is a media stunt, and we are all paying a heavy price for it. My name is David Annarelli. I’m a contributing writer for the PrisonJournalismProject.org, davidannarelli.wordpress.com, Instagram @david_annarelli.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
