Legislation introduced during the 2024 General Assembly session created an ombudsman position to oversee the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Andrea Sapone took the role in September, and later promised to prioritize an investigation into Red Onion State Prison.
She held her first stakeholder meeting Tuesday to explain how the office works and what it’s accomplished so far.
Sapone said her office is focused on high-level issues at prisons across the state. The unit has published several inspection reports since February and completed work on about 12 others.
Last month, the office released numbers indicating it had processed more than 500 grievances filed by incarcerated people and advocates. A number of them were duplicative and came from abolitionist groups mainly focused on Red Onion.
Sapone said those repeat emails eat up capacity.
“Our office wouldn’t need 200 emails from 100 different people stating the same thing," she explained. "It wouldn't get someone heard or seen any quicker and actually bogs us down during the intake process, because we have to read each one to make sure that they're the same and that they’re the same and that there's no new information.”
Nicole Deyo — founder of advocacy group Bending the Bars — spoke during the meeting, highlighting concerns about the lack of fans and air conditioning at some facilities. She commended Sapone and her office, but said more transparency is necessary.
“What we have to understand what the process is. And then we have to understand what the resolution was, right? We know they exist," Deyo said. "But legit like what are you doing? I want to see you doing it, right?”
Sapone said she’s working to build trust with Virginia’s Department of Corrections, and has written a memorandum of understanding to serve as a guide for interacting with the department. It’s currently being reviewed.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.