A contributed perspectives piece by Victoria Shrieves
In 2024, six inmates at the Red Onion State Prison set themselves on fire, now inmates are being forced to sign agreements that threaten to punish self-harm. Red Onion in Western Virginia is infamous for its claims of inhumane conditions especially concerning their use of solitary confinement. The use of solitary in Virginia state prisons has been hotly debated; however, its direct negative effect on mental health is clear.
The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is responsible for tracking cases of self-harm in prisons. However, they do not report this information to the public. The news of inmates self-immolating at Red Onion was released by Kevin “Rashid” Johnson in October 2024. In his report, Johnson spoke to Ekong Eshiet, one of the inmates who set himself on fire. Eshiet cited his act of self-harm as a desperate attempt to get away from the racist, abusive, and inhumane treatment he experiences at Red Onion. This was not done out of protest; it was a desperate action taken by inmates seeking any way out of the intolerable conditions they were being subjected to. Eshiet views his situation as being so dire that he would set himself on fire again if it meant being transferred to another prison, and that he would rather die than remain at Red Onion.
The effects of the horrid conditions and use of solitary confinement leading to violent acts of self-harm, as seen at Red Onion, are not surprising. Two social scientists, Angela Hattery and Earl Smith, in their book Way Down in the Hole, describe the animalistic urge to do anything, even commit acts of self-harm, to get away from dehumanizing treatment. The dehumanization of inmates at Red Onion from “[solitary confinement], racism, brutality from prison staff, humiliation, unsanitary living conditions, deliberate indifference to medical needs, nutritionally inadequate meals, [and] violent dog attacks” can all lead to feelings of despair, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and even suicide.
Following the news of six inmates self-immolating, VADOC Director Chad Dotson released a statement fully dismissing the allegations of inhumane treatment at Red Onion. Instead of taking the mental toll of solitary confinement and inhumane conditions seriously, Dotson claimed that inmates were simply upset at not being able to manipulate the staff. Director Dotson is not alone in categorizing acts of self-harm as manipulation. In an article published by Solitary Watch, Dr. Terry Kupers notes how common it is for the mental health of inmates to be ignored and written off simply as manipulation or malingering.
The environment created by incarceration, such as disconnection from society, frequent exposure to violence, loss of autonomy, and many others, has been connected to many negative mental health outcomes, from a general negative sense of well-being to major depressive disorder and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One former inmate, Hassan Shabazz, who spent a year in solitary confinement at Red Onion, now reports PTSD from his experiences in the prison system that were not diagnosed or treated until after his release. This is not made-up evidence; there are real people and real data that support how damaging the carceral system is yet those in charge dismiss it simply as an act of manipulation or feigning illness.
How did the VADOC choose to respond after all this public outcry for the inhumane treatment happening at Red Onion State Prison? First, they charged all six inmates who self-immolated with disciplinary violations, with four receiving a violation for “self-mutilation”. Then they made a “Safety Agreement for Inmates” that threatened punishment for acts of self-harm and forced them to sign it. The VADOC and those in charge at the Red Onion State Prison have chosen to ignore the inhumane conditions in the carceral system. No human being should be pushed to the point of self-immolation as their only hope at being treated like a human.
Victoria Shrieves is a senior at James Madison University studying Political Science with a minor in Humanitarian Affairs.
