I am a perfect example of the rehabilitation programs offered by the Virginia department of corrections.... I was at Coffee Wood were I acquired my G.E.D & a certification as a Optician.... I was deported back to Jamaica in 2004 after completing my sentence.... I am now the Senior Optician for the company I work for these past 15 years... Crime Free!!!
@@Basilbird2012 I appreciate that bro!... Only if I could somehow be granted a pardon to re-enter the United States to be with my family again. I got caught in trouble with the law at 17 yrs old (possession of cocaine with intent to distribute/firearm) my only offence.... I am born Jamaican but my heart& mindset is American.
@@dorianshackleford2078 I agree there needs to be programs for those who the immigrants here who have been here pretty much their entire lives, some don’t even speak their native tongue any more and get sent back lost, not able to speak that language any longer and possibly not have any family in their hometowns, so they are alone. Sometimes things need to be looked at with some portion of a heart and not totally polar opposites being the answers to situations. Especially someone who would be less likely to be a repeat offender. The sick people that do the unspeakable things to children and adults definitely don’t need that as an option for them, and definitely for the people who live in the US.
@@dorianshackleford2078 I hope you can to. There are a lot of laws taking effect now. Your charge could come down. Or probation. Hope all goes well for you. Let me know how your doing..
I agree with the inmate who said that basically the program does not matter if he has to sacrifice his self-respect for it. I have a guy in Red Onion, and he said it's not really optional, there are occasions where there's just no choice but there's a nuance to that anywhere you go not just in prison. If you sacrifice your self-respect for most reasons, to avoid a fight, to keep a job or a relationship, it's almost never going to be worth it.
Okay @@TheRealJaded 👍, ole’ wise one ☝️. You must know all you need to know and need nothing more. We shouldn’t ever learn from those that are deemed to be *a lesser than*. Never could someone who lives in a whole different world, or worlds if looked at another way…oh wait that shouldn’t be done either… nothing of value could come from *a lesser than*. *A lesser than* could never be intelligent, and definitely not above intelligence. God forbid *a lesser than* would open our eyes and hearts to things SOME are OBVIOUSLY too BLIND see on their own, but to highly placed in this world to be told anything, from good to not so good (must be blocked by your high intelligence, and I bet your EQ could never be matched, or need to be developed, even just a tad bit more). How horrible it must be, to be stuck in a world where I couldn’t look beyond the mistakes of others and find a connection/common ground with, or even worse to be taught by *a lesser than*, or open me up to new perspectives. Which only leads to a new, more free and/or better understanding of the way life could/should be, or a view from someone else’s shoes. Because redemption is possible, and even if it was forgiveness is off the table, therefore one could never be heard, or live any sort of life, especially if the unforgivable found some enjoyment in their lives by sharing. That might prove people can change and redemption is a possibility, and we can never allow that to happen. Shhh 🤫, don’t let the not *a lesser than* hear that these *lesser* people could learn and grow past their undesirable behavior, even the unforgiving behaviors have redemption and that can’t be told/shown to others who may want change to occur... There isn’t even a possibility that *a lesser than* could plain and simply just be interesting, and/or entertaining to listen to.
I did the cognitive self-change also known as CSC in prison and I got to tell you it was the most rewarding program I ever did and it changed my life dramatically for the better I owe everything to the facilitators in the Vermont department of corrections of the CSC program they helped me,big time
Good on you brother, it takes some true grit to acknowledge the need within and accept the help, then follow through. I did the same thing and my life looks nothing like it did.
Prisons should give inmates a secret ballot to vote on offenders who create the most threat of violence. And separate those offenders. It’s a crime itself that the US Justice department forces non violent inmates into violent situations, where they have to choose between survival and obedience.
$50 and a bus ticket is what I got when I left Powhatan in 93. This after a lengthy juvenile criminal history (5 Juvenile detention homes, 2 group homes, 14 foster homes, 3 boys schools, job corp.. Then as an adult 5 city jails, 6 prisons, 2 road camps. Then I got out after a 10 year bit with that whole $50. Woo Hoo! I was a time and battle hardened convict who one day I'm a convict in prison then the next I'm released upon society. Everyone expected me to go back! I made the choice that I would not let what circumstances society forces on me to be the reason I go back to prison. 26 Years later and I still make a conscience decision each day to keep the Convict inside me in check. Don't get me wrong. I have no desire to be a criminal in any way. I don't even drink or use drugs. But too often I have to let someone get away with speaking in a disrespectful manner that in prison, I would have peeled their wigs back (Tie a pad lock on a rope or belt that's wrapped around my wrist held in my hand that I would smash over some fools head a dozen times or so. That's what I had a rep for doing.) The way I describe it to people is that one day I was in a cage with many pissed off lions just like myself. Then the next day I was put out in society and told to play nice with a field full of cute little bunnies. I can not tell you how many times in the last 26 years I wanted to break some fools jaw for flapping their mouths off! Think about this - "I" have kept the Convict in me in check for 26 years. I'm just one man! Most don't make the same decisions I did! Most who have been in my shoes will kill again if they get out. It's not because they are bad people. It's about training and conditioning! When you go into the system, becoming a killer is just part of the training and conditioning you get in there. NOT being one is a choice "I" make though despite how society likes to push my buttons! There's millions out there who have been in my shoes, what choices do you leave them!?
God bless you bro I been home 9 years now and it still feels like I got out 2 months ago but I definitely told myself im not goin back that's enough and yea a lot of people thought I wasn't gonna stay out this long but here I am lol a happy and free man and bragging about it
It’s crazy seeing this documentary after listening to @BankyPounds tell stories about this place and others. Strait Larceny, Tom foolery, skull duggary 😮
What needs to change is giving these fools, opportunity after they are released. Because I befriended a guy who was released after being locked down for seven years . The biggest issue was the sense of intitlement . He was given certain things in prison so it was hard to convince him to save and do the right thing financially for long term success. Finally he stole my business phone and I lost contacts that took me years to make, so I had to cut the apron strings. To help him realize that nothing is free even a simple friendship
I was the official supplier of weed to the warden at Red Onion and we would often take hits from the bong and frolick naked at night banging gongs and barking at the moon
For a long time I was one of those people who thought that convicted people should be thrown away in prison and never to be heard from again. This video truly opened my eyes since there are prisoners who will one day be released back into our communities and we need to train them so they don’t repeat a crime that’ll hurt a victim. also I believe that it’s safer for those who work at the prisons. There is a saying and I will paraphrase train the mind and the body will follow. Thank you for making this video.
These prisoners committed crimes and then committed more crimes once they got to prison. They are not nice people. They are a danger to other prisoners and prison staff.
I did 3 years in Virginia and Maryland DOC. I was a heroin addict and thief for 14 years. Im now 8 years sober, and living in Florida. im 37 years old, and have my life back. I corrected myself while incarcerated, learned how to draw very well, took classes, got in great shape, and read literally hundreds of books. It changed my life for the better. The Lord Jesus disciplines those He Loves me.
Wow that's some pretty incredible change compared to the situation that was shown in the HBO documentary. Thumbs up for that new director who initiated that apparently much needed change. It all makes much more sense now as at least it gives the inmates (and staff) some sort of goals and perspective.
That prison was made to solely house the "high threat" convicts. So these are the people who need to be in prison. I'm sick of woke "progressive" bullshit! Just look at what it is doing to our nation today! Look what "progressive" has gotten us! Leftists destroy everything! DEMONRATS/Leftists are the true disease and plague facing America today!
I mean, this is the most positive thing i've seen in a while. To be honest, as a european i would not even have imaged a change like that being possible in the U.S. I'm not talking about the change of offenders in the first place but change in thinking on the part of the U.S. jurisdiction. I hope this new way of looking at incarceration can be a role model for other prisons in the U.S. and elsewhere as it truly seems to be a worthy role model.
Lars Hanson (19:51) and Michael Kelly (25:03) were featured in “Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison (HBO Documentary Films),” when they were in the harsh segregation unit. Find this on TH-cam. This is good that the prison has made improvements.
My best friend from high school is serving an 89 year sentence there. I send him money once a month, I try to visit a few times a year. He caught his wife with another man and it cost him 89. He snapped.
Aww. Ive always put on my bucket list a good lengthy stretch at Red Onion. With a warden like that, I have great faith indeed, that all my dismannerisms will be rehabilitated indeed. Yes, I said indeed twice.
Right......you definitely need armor to protect yourself from all those convicts locked behind those thick steel doors. Stop watching prison movies, they're fucking your head up.
Neil Anderson I know of one man for sure that is not guilty. I am Sure there are more. It was a corrupt detective that took O’Kerrie Wilkins down. The detective still walks the streets while O’Kerrie is being mistreated at red onion. This world is Filled with shame.
I wonder how many so-called law abiding citizens in this prison situation would be categorized as a high level criminal because of the conditions and the solidarity of prison life!! I think a man who has never committed a serious crime would become a criminal in certain situations in these facilities
19:43 thats exactly the showers they cook people in. They rig it so the water temperature is 70-80 degrees celsius, they throw the guy in, lock it, and they scrub them with exactly these brushes in the mean time. Thats if they smear shit on theyself. Thats the usual punishment for it by the goon squad. Lots of people have died from this.
Just look what happened in Walkinshaw Brooks. He was in an out of prison 20 times in 12 years. Can you believe that 20 times in 12 years he was in an out of prison
Humanity will always exist as long as the process of how to think instead of what to think exists. Perhaps the staffs of correctional institutions should have always realized this.
This is a good change compared to the HBO Documentary Supermaxx based on this facility. At the time of the documentary being filmed this prison was a solitary confinement only institution and science has proven over and over and over again if you keep an inmate locked up in solitary confinement like that for long periods of time he is bound to literally go crazy and be worse off than he was... So seeing this makes me happy it’s a change in the right direction
Caitlyn Kirk 12:01. The part they are referencing. Yes. Those are cages. And yes. They aren’t model citizens. They are serious criminals. But as Americans, we must follow the constitution. The 8th amendment Forbids this. Funny how so many Americans ignore most of the amendments yet live and die by others. There are 27 of them. All just as important. (Other than the prohibition amendment for obvious reasons).
They need team building and programing for guards. Also some time in nature, grass, trees, sunlight. Have more natural lighting, and in lower levels some control over their surroundings like light switches. Maybe even a comfortable bed.
Well that sucked to hear but ty for your honesty. U would think rehabilitation would be top priority especially those possibly being back on the streets but I see that's wishful thinking...
The lady running the garden guys was working in a New Jersey jail in 2003 she definitely didn't have a Southern accent then. She spoke like a Northern Yankee.
@@DirtyDan1 I'm from Georgia and Tennessee and nobody I know refers to southern folks as yanks or Yankees . The only folks we call Yankees are usually from up north . Ya know ! The states that are not apart of the south
I gotta family member that did over 10 in maximum security for B&E in VA. When he came home I was 14, he said to me; “boy, don’t go stealing nothing, Virginia don’t like thieves”. 😂
Clarke used to be the DOC Commissioner in Massachusetts before moving to Virginia. He turned MCI Cedar Junction f.k.a MCI Walpole into the intake facility, making SBCC the only maximum security prison in Massachusetts.
He was also previously the DOC Commissioner for Nebraska. Considering he has managed to stay on as director in Virginia through four different gubernatorial administrations (McDonnell, McAuliffe, Northam and Youngkin), he must be well liked for his efforts.
Been here. 2004-2005 this place is a living hell. If your black they was warning your family’s not too stay at local motels if they came too visit. Knew a guy who family had rocks thrown thru their car and motel Windows.
Kudos to Virginia Department of Correction Director Harold Clarke in pushing for this sort of reform at Red Onion State Prison. When it was opened in 1998 during the reign of then VADOC director Ron Angelone, Red Onion was touted as the end of the line for violent and irredeemable offenders. It is good to see that inmates now are being given the opportunity to improve their own behavior through positive reinforcement and education as opposed to only being subject to segregation without any incentive for improvement.
Kudos? Are you a bootlicker? These guys running this place have ego trips, they want to be the "Daddy" in the sky. Truly amazing personalities. I also enjoy how fat and sloppy each guard is. Jowls like a pig. Grow up guys. I know your life is sad in rural nowhere with your overweight wives and feelings of insecurity. I would not be surprised if all these guards also had gun fetishes 😂 They need to require a Bachelors degree for guards along with a degree in Psychology because these guys will never understand that treating people like shit (no matter what the crime) is not going to improve anyone's survival
She is horrible and she said the jail was created and that is a good thing because it created jobs? Wow. If you had a job for the inmates, maybe they wouldn't do illegal shit. Then they said segregation, but it's okay because it created jobs.
Have so much respect for Lars, his emotional/psychological well-being. My head would of fell off a long time ago. With everything he's progressed through 💯💪👊
What a surprise i got when i saw The Step down programme, offenders have waited a long time for this chance to progress, well done Red onion Staff from The United Kingdom👌
Good people making a difference to otherwise lost individuals. It'd be wonderful to see these types of programs adapted to suit little one's in schools. A real education to change society early in life. None of us are responsible for the dialogue that is impressed into our minds before age 5. Everything goes into our subconscious up to then. Then we act out of that for the rest of our lives. Congratulations to these people in this program. Staff, inmates and higher officials making it possible.
Good people? Wow. So you have never been involved with the criminal justice system of America then. Because the only people who are under the impression that they are doing a good job are people who have never been involved with it. Make no mistake it is aptly named because what they do there is damn criminal as it has become an industry instead of a chance at real Rehabilitation. Regardless of what the propaganda video says.
Don’t be fooled, look online for all the civil cases filed throughout the years by different inmates citing the same complaints of abuse and many of the same staff names. My loved one has been there for 33 years for a non violent offense of robbery. Every time he’s up for parole he has a bogus charge pending which causes him to be denied. He has filed many civil suits and been forced to withdraw many after suffering retaliation. Even with video evidence his other cases go unfounded because the same judges are all rubbing elbows with corrections. My loved one was kept in seg for 8 years straight. He was still put in seg on and off after that without justification.
There should be some agreement to companies that inmates work for inside prison should also have jobs for those same inmates once they get into the freeworld. The only reason they do not is simply because profits are 100x better paying that same person in prison to work for them at .30 per hour then say 15.00 an hr to the same people who are released into the freeworld after working and earning those same companies so many insane profits and tax deductions using prisoners as 100% of there employess. Don't hate the player,hate the game! Just as an addict chooses to use these companies choose to not improve or "rehabilitate" inmates.Why bother, so you can gain those same employees again for another 3to5years in just a few months later . System is completely broken and is chosen not to be fixed!
If prison was the answer to crime, this would be the safest place on the planet. Same old tired ideas for the same problem. I thought that was the definition of insanity, to repeat the same action but expect a different result. One day we will stop thinking about punishment and start to think of solutions to locking up the most people on the planet. Prison and jail are about punishment, not rehabilitaion, whatever that means. It's ok if that is what you want it to be, but keep in mind that 98% of all inmates in this country will walk the street again, hope they don't deccide to take their anger out on you! If you consider yourself civilized, you should demand a better system than this expensive cash cow we have now.
Scott Brooks YOU ARE RIGHT ON! Half of the people who impose punishment instead of rehabilitation are stealing, lying, bringing drugs and phones in the prison or breaking the law themselves....and have some nerve to look down on others like they can't change.
Lmao whatever dude my brother is here and he can tell you that indeed it’s WAYYY worse I get your from England but I don’t want you thinking that place changed for the better because it hasn’t
There's a spiritual sequel to this documentary at Red Onion and a lot of these same inmates interviewed are interviewed on that one as well and they're still in segregation years later.
Well. Hmmm. Watching the video and reading the comments I am not encouraged by the VA DOC'S transparency or their ability to maintain even minimum standards óf care for inmates. My fiance is incarcerated at another facility in Virginia. There is a wall of silence from the DOC relative to heat mitigation measures during the recent heat wave or if they have a plan to address the recent epidemic of inmate deaths at many of the correctional facilities in our state, including the recent deaths at Greensville, Nottoway and Red Onion. ,
All these guys just needed desperately early in life,Love,Authority,Guidance,and Compassion. The U.S is simply devoid of this trait.Shame on America !!!!!
I am a perfect example of the rehabilitation programs offered by the Virginia department of corrections.... I was at Coffee Wood were I acquired my G.E.D & a certification as a Optician.... I was deported back to Jamaica in 2004 after completing my sentence.... I am now the Senior Optician for the company I work for these past 15 years... Crime Free!!!
That’s awesome. Good for you 😁👁
@@Basilbird2012 I appreciate that bro!... Only if I could somehow be granted a pardon to re-enter the United States to be with my family again. I got caught in trouble with the law at 17 yrs old (possession of cocaine with intent to distribute/firearm) my only offence.... I am born Jamaican but my heart& mindset is American.
Wonderful!!
@@dorianshackleford2078 I agree there needs to be programs for those who the immigrants here who have been here pretty much their entire lives, some don’t even speak their native tongue any more and get sent back lost, not able to speak that language any longer and possibly not have any family in their hometowns, so they are alone. Sometimes things need to be looked at with some portion of a heart and not totally polar opposites being the answers to situations. Especially someone who would be less likely to be a repeat offender. The sick people that do the unspeakable things to children and adults definitely don’t need that as an option for them, and definitely for the people who live in the US.
@@dorianshackleford2078 I hope you can to. There are a lot of laws taking effect now. Your charge could come down. Or probation. Hope all goes well for you. Let me know how your doing..
I agree with the inmate who said that basically the program does not matter if he has to sacrifice his self-respect for it. I have a guy in Red Onion, and he said it's not really optional, there are occasions where there's just no choice but there's a nuance to that anywhere you go not just in prison. If you sacrifice your self-respect for most reasons, to avoid a fight, to keep a job or a relationship, it's almost never going to be worth it.
That's why I won't mask , test , or vaccinate.
check out "Red Onion Randy", a weekly podcast with Red Onion prisoner Randall Via who spent 13 years in seg. It's really good.
Really good indeed!
Thanks
I'm going to check him out. Never heard of him
I don't listen to offenders ramble like they know anything
Okay @@TheRealJaded 👍, ole’ wise one ☝️.
You must know all you need to know and need nothing more. We shouldn’t ever learn from those that are deemed to be *a lesser than*. Never could someone who lives in a whole different world, or worlds if looked at another way…oh wait that shouldn’t be done either… nothing of value could come from *a lesser than*. *A lesser than* could never be intelligent, and definitely not above intelligence.
God forbid *a lesser than* would open our eyes and hearts to things SOME are OBVIOUSLY too BLIND see on their own, but to highly placed in this world to be told anything, from good to not so good (must be blocked by your high intelligence, and I bet your EQ could never be matched, or need to be developed, even just a tad bit more).
How horrible it must be, to be stuck in a world where I couldn’t look beyond the mistakes of others and find a connection/common ground with, or even worse to be taught by *a lesser than*, or open me up to new perspectives. Which only leads to a new, more free and/or better understanding of the way life could/should be, or a view from someone else’s shoes.
Because redemption is possible, and even if it was forgiveness is off the table, therefore one could never be heard, or live any sort of life, especially if the unforgivable found some enjoyment in their lives by sharing. That might prove people can change and redemption is a possibility, and we can never allow that to happen. Shhh 🤫, don’t let the not *a lesser than* hear that these *lesser* people could learn and grow past their undesirable behavior, even the unforgiving behaviors have redemption and that can’t be told/shown to others who may want change to occur...
There isn’t even a possibility that *a lesser than* could plain and simply just be interesting, and/or entertaining to listen to.
I did the cognitive self-change also known as CSC in prison and I got to tell you it was the most rewarding program I ever did and it changed my life dramatically for the better I owe everything to the facilitators in the Vermont department of corrections of the CSC program they helped me,big time
That's positive. Good to know
Well done mate, keep it up
Good for you! Glad you feel good about it. Best wishes.
Good on you brother, it takes some true grit to acknowledge the need within and accept the help, then follow through.
I did the same thing and my life looks nothing like it did.
Is it just me or does it seem like robbers get more time than murderers?
Yes the government hates competition
@@jaredpinkard7351 kkkkkkk oh boy ...
@@diogopinto9462 are you Brazilian???
@@mindsany9903 no
Yup
They must have got in a lot of trouble after that documentary came out!
Exactly my thoughts😂😂 first thing i was thinking
Yes! Especially since they used the same inmates to interview here that were in the documentry, suspicious!
Value my Freedom Like I Value my Life..
All da Best Righteous People..
Prisons should give inmates a secret ballot to vote on offenders who create the most threat of violence. And separate those offenders. It’s a crime itself that the US Justice department forces non violent inmates into violent situations, where they have to choose between survival and obedience.
$50 and a bus ticket is what I got when I left Powhatan in 93. This after a lengthy juvenile criminal history (5 Juvenile detention homes, 2 group homes, 14 foster homes, 3 boys schools, job corp.. Then as an adult 5 city jails, 6 prisons, 2 road camps. Then I got out after a 10 year bit with that whole $50. Woo Hoo! I was a time and battle hardened convict who one day I'm a convict in prison then the next I'm released upon society. Everyone expected me to go back! I made the choice that I would not let what circumstances society forces on me to be the reason I go back to prison. 26 Years later and I still make a conscience decision each day to keep the Convict inside me in check. Don't get me wrong. I have no desire to be a criminal in any way. I don't even drink or use drugs. But too often I have to let someone get away with speaking in a disrespectful manner that in prison, I would have peeled their wigs back (Tie a pad lock on a rope or belt that's wrapped around my wrist held in my hand that I would smash over some fools head a dozen times or so. That's what I had a rep for doing.) The way I describe it to people is that one day I was in a cage with many pissed off lions just like myself. Then the next day I was put out in society and told to play nice with a field full of cute little bunnies. I can not tell you how many times in the last 26 years I wanted to break some fools jaw for flapping their mouths off! Think about this - "I" have kept the Convict in me in check for 26 years. I'm just one man! Most don't make the same decisions I did! Most who have been in my shoes will kill again if they get out. It's not because they are bad people. It's about training and conditioning! When you go into the system, becoming a killer is just part of the training and conditioning you get in there. NOT being one is a choice "I" make though despite how society likes to push my buttons! There's millions out there who have been in my shoes, what choices do you leave them!?
God bless you bro I been home 9 years now and it still feels like I got out 2 months ago but I definitely told myself im not goin back that's enough and yea a lot of people thought I wasn't gonna stay out this long but here I am lol a happy and free man and bragging about it
Nigga plz....
What were the road camps like? Maybe this is a dumb question, but did the long workdays reduce stress or violence ?
The assistant Warden and half the administration looks like a bunch of criminals.
Just noticed this is the place Jay Williams (Let's life life) was talking about in one of his videos.
Is this where his brother is incarcerated right now?
It’s crazy seeing this documentary after listening to @BankyPounds tell stories about this place and others. Strait Larceny, Tom foolery, skull duggary 😮
What needs to change is giving these fools, opportunity after they are released. Because I befriended a guy who was released after being locked down for seven years . The biggest issue was the sense of intitlement . He was given certain things in prison so it was hard to convince him to save and do the right thing financially for long term success. Finally he stole my business phone and I lost contacts that took me years to make, so I had to cut the apron strings. To help him realize that nothing is free even a simple friendship
I was an inmate for 13 years. Most of this came only after lawsuits filed.
@jojo bean bean Williams is what brought me to check this out too.
Is it true they released dogs on inmates ?
Yes it is true they will release the dogs on you.. I've done a lot of time and stay Virginia
David did you drop the soap?
I was the official supplier of weed to the warden at Red Onion and we would often take hits from the bong and frolick naked at night banging gongs and barking at the moon
😂😂
Prison is messed up I just got out a couple of years ago I think I'd rather die than go back
😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Are you a trump supporter 🧐
The prison system is such a huge. Business.hard to believe how many people locked up.
A Hugely Non Profitable business,Prisons don't make profits for share holders!!! Get real
0:53 The guy doing squats had me like...
"One, one, one, one"😄
For a long time I was one of those people who thought that convicted people should be thrown away in prison and never to be heard from again. This video truly opened my eyes since there are prisoners who will one day be released back into our communities and we need to train them so they don’t repeat a crime that’ll hurt a victim. also I believe that it’s safer for those who work at the prisons. There is a saying and I will paraphrase train the mind and the body will follow. Thank you for making this video.
(
Some crimes do indeed deserve 'throw away the key' punishment. Pedophiles Rapists and Murderers (1st degree premeditated, or laying in wait).
@@ceruleanc505 There I fully agree with you.
These prisoners committed crimes and then committed more crimes once they got to prison. They are not nice people. They are a danger to other prisoners and prison staff.
Thankfully for society you had your eyes opened. Not everyone convicted of a crime are bad people.
I did 3 years in Virginia and Maryland DOC. I was a heroin addict and thief for 14 years. Im now 8 years sober, and living in Florida. im 37 years old, and have my life back. I corrected myself while incarcerated, learned how to draw very well, took classes, got in great shape, and read literally hundreds of books. It changed my life for the better. The Lord Jesus disciplines those He Loves me.
Wow that's some pretty incredible change compared to the situation that was shown in the HBO documentary. Thumbs up for that new director who initiated that apparently much needed change. It all makes much more sense now as at least it gives the inmates (and staff) some sort of goals and perspective.
Don't believe the hype! That's all it is! Things will go back to what they were in time! It always does in there!
If you believe this then your one of the suckers that's born every minute.
That prison was made to solely house the "high threat" convicts. So these are the people who need to be in prison. I'm sick of woke "progressive" bullshit! Just look at what it is doing to our nation today! Look what "progressive" has gotten us! Leftists destroy everything! DEMONRATS/Leftists are the true disease and plague facing America today!
I mean, this is the most positive thing i've seen in a while. To be honest, as a european i would not even have imaged a change like that being possible in the U.S. I'm not talking about the change of offenders in the first place but change in thinking on the part of the U.S. jurisdiction. I hope this new way of looking at incarceration can be a role model for other prisons in the U.S. and elsewhere as it truly seems to be a worthy role model.
Only if it makes a profit. The US doesnt give a shit about the well being of society.. its about the dollar.
Lars Hanson (19:51) and Michael Kelly (25:03) were featured in “Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison (HBO Documentary Films),” when they were in the harsh segregation unit. Find this on TH-cam. This is good that the prison has made improvements.
My Anon I watched that before this one
I did, too.
I think those are some pretty incredible positive improvements compared to the situation before.
Keep in mind this was produced by the prison themselves
I saw this kid Hanson 20:20 on another documentary. He was in solitary confinement and in bad shape. Good to see him do better
@Commies Stink sad to know. Grateful for the update though.
To all my Tears .... I Continue to LIFT Ur Accomodations and Legal Representation may GOD WORK FOR THE PEOPLE AND EACH OF CHOOSE TRUTH....
My best friend from high school is serving an 89 year sentence there. I send him money once a month, I try to visit a few times a year. He caught his wife with another man and it cost him 89. He snapped.
Thats really nice of u to do that for him.i ben there. I know he has to appreciate that a lot its the only thing to look forward to in there.
You are a good friend😉
what is the color of his skin?
89 year over a female, damn, no womans worth that time
Killed him and her or just killed him?
Aww.
Ive always put on my bucket list a good lengthy stretch at Red Onion.
With a warden like that, I have great faith indeed, that all my dismannerisms will be rehabilitated indeed. Yes, I said indeed twice.
What an innovative prison system! Bravo-education changes everything!
If you can walk into a maximum facility without body armor,head gear and a face shield, it's not a Max.
Right......you definitely need armor to protect yourself from all those convicts locked behind those thick steel doors.
Stop watching prison movies, they're fucking your head up.
I googled that prison and they have settled a bunch of lawsuits for wrongful death.
Neil Anderson I know of one man for sure that is not guilty. I am Sure there are more.
It was a corrupt detective that took O’Kerrie Wilkins down. The detective still walks the streets while O’Kerrie is being mistreated at red onion. This world is Filled with shame.
@ you're ignorant as fuck
moral of the story;DON'T BREAK THE LAW!
Fall asleep watching this lol
U mustve woke up an came bck to make this comment huh
@@rayman1269 I did a poop....
DR NOOB about about rite 🤣.
Only to wake up again in segregation
Lol same
The rich pay the fine, the poor do the time..11820-027
These new programs are blessings for everyone.
They used a lot of the same inmates from the “Solitary” HBO documentry. Weird.
I drive past here everyday and I’ve always wondered what’s its like
It sucks.
Had to speed this video up to make watching bearable. The guys are such slow talkers it was maddening.
lmaoo
That's because the majority are uneducated.
It's sort of sad actually.
Lolol oh my!!! True story lolol
@@llamaboy1991 You're obviously poorly educated to think accent/speed of speech has anything to do with education.
One of my good friends from school is serving 63 years here. My brother also served time here.
I wonder how many so-called law abiding citizens in this prison situation would be categorized as a high level criminal because of the conditions and the solidarity of prison life!! I think a man who has never committed a serious crime would become a criminal in certain situations in these facilities
❤Absolutely,introducing a person with a misdemeanor or less snowballs into a life in prison.AMERICA THE GREAT???? NOT SO!!
I notice these men interact with men from different "races". Very different & wonderful to see 💕💕💕💕
this is a great documentary, HBO did a doc on this same prison (and some of the same prisoners) called super maximum
The After prison show brought me here.
heard it's where the shit goes down!
I had to laugh when I saw this post because Joe is my ex
Jennifer Hanna holy shit Jennifer
APS!!
Malcolm Battle hey me too after watching the Robert glesson story. Crazy shit.
Hell yeah me too
19:43 thats exactly the showers they cook people in. They rig it so the water temperature is 70-80 degrees celsius, they throw the guy in, lock it, and they scrub them with exactly these brushes in the mean time.
Thats if they smear shit on theyself. Thats the usual punishment for it by the goon squad. Lots of people have died from this.
are u serious
Every time I watch a documentary about Red Onion there is a different warden. Must be a hard job eh?
Just look what happened in Walkinshaw Brooks. He was in an out of prison 20 times in 12 years. Can you believe that 20 times in 12 years he was in an out of prison
Humanity will always exist as long as the process of how to think instead of what to think exists. Perhaps the staffs of correctional institutions should have always realized this.
This is a good change compared to the HBO Documentary Supermaxx based on this facility. At the time of the documentary being filmed this prison was a solitary confinement only institution and science has proven over and over and over again if you keep an inmate locked up in solitary confinement like that for long periods of time he is bound to literally go crazy and be worse off than he was... So seeing this makes me happy it’s a change in the right direction
Jessa Jarrell it still has segregation
Sara Allison yes, I know... but at least the ones who are making good choices see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel you know.... 🤷🏼♀️
Abso-fucking-lutely....
Gives the offenders a second chance for a life they never new....matty
Beautiful profile pic.
This is good red onion 🧅 has a had a bad rap for years but now they are actually helping the inmates
Harold Clarke has quite the nice office.
I'm a free man.
And yet I'm so proud of y'all and I thank God 🙏 for y'all giving those guys a chance and helping them
Everyone has their own "module"? Lady, those are called cages. Don't sugar coat the fact that these dudes are locked in tiny cages.
Caitlyn Kirk 12:01. The part they are referencing. Yes. Those are cages. And yes. They aren’t model citizens. They are serious criminals. But as Americans, we must follow the constitution. The 8th amendment Forbids this. Funny how so many Americans ignore most of the amendments yet live and die by others. There are 27 of them. All just as important. (Other than the prohibition amendment for obvious reasons).
She's fine tho
In other words, "a bureaucratic hell"...
Wow that’s nice !!!! All others prisons 👉🏾should follow suit the RESULTS seem amazing
They need team building and programing for guards. Also some time in nature, grass, trees, sunlight. Have more natural lighting, and in lower levels some control over their surroundings like light switches. Maybe even a comfortable bed.
These prisoners sound like they are giving themselves a second chance .
Now this is how a prison should be run..my hats off to everyone involved. God bless you all...
I work here
@Kenneth Stephenson very nice of you but none of this video is true there's no compassion for any inmate that is housed here sorry:(
Put your hat back on honey:)
Well that sucked to hear but ty for your honesty. U would think rehabilitation would be top priority especially those possibly being back on the streets but I see that's wishful thinking...
The lady running the garden guys was working in a New Jersey jail in 2003 she definitely didn't have a Southern accent then. She spoke like a Northern Yankee.
Va is the norf norf deff not the souf yall east coast mofaz...... to us real souf folks it's TX
RIP: PIMP C
@Jason Voorheese yankee= term for any American, regardless of what region they're from.
@@DirtyDan1 I'm from Georgia and Tennessee and nobody I know refers to southern folks as yanks or Yankees . The only folks we call Yankees are usually from up north . Ya know ! The states that are not apart of the south
@@guyfrom8659 very true! In my family we call all outsiders Yankees.
I gotta family member that did over 10 in maximum security for B&E in VA. When he came home I was 14, he said to me; “boy, don’t go stealing nothing, Virginia don’t like thieves”. 😂
Clarke used to be the DOC Commissioner in Massachusetts before moving to Virginia. He turned MCI Cedar Junction f.k.a MCI Walpole into the intake facility, making SBCC the only maximum security prison in Massachusetts.
He was also previously the DOC Commissioner for Nebraska. Considering he has managed to stay on as director in Virginia through four different gubernatorial administrations (McDonnell, McAuliffe, Northam and Youngkin), he must be well liked for his efforts.
35:00 Brad Jett you dead ass wrong for your hair 😂🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Been here. 2004-2005 this place is a living hell. If your black they was warning your family’s not too stay at local motels if they came too visit. Knew a guy who family had rocks thrown thru their car and motel Windows.
Kudos to Virginia Department of Correction Director Harold Clarke in pushing for this sort of reform at Red Onion State Prison. When it was opened in 1998 during the reign of then VADOC director Ron Angelone, Red Onion was touted as the end of the line for violent and irredeemable offenders. It is good to see that inmates now are being given the opportunity to improve their own behavior through positive reinforcement and education as opposed to only being subject to segregation without any incentive for improvement.
Montgomery Mall I like your view point, as it is very true.
Kudos? Are you a bootlicker? These guys running this place have ego trips, they want to be the "Daddy" in the sky. Truly amazing personalities. I also enjoy how fat and sloppy each guard is. Jowls like a pig. Grow up guys. I know your life is sad in rural nowhere with your overweight wives and feelings of insecurity. I would not be surprised if all these guards also had gun fetishes 😂 They need to require a Bachelors degree for guards along with a degree in Psychology because these guys will never understand that treating people like shit (no matter what the crime) is not going to improve anyone's survival
If they want to give the inmates "treatment," give them painkillers and benzodiazapines.
This is some of the worst narration I've ever heard. Did she take a handful of Quaaludes before going into the booth to record this???
That's what I was thinking! I love prison docs, but I just cant finish it!
Lmao Wolf of Wallstreet
She is horrible and she said the jail was created and that is a good thing because it created jobs? Wow. If you had a job for the inmates, maybe they wouldn't do illegal shit. Then they said segregation, but it's okay because it created jobs.
It’s bad! I came to the comments to see how other people felt about it 😂
Have so much respect for Lars, his emotional/psychological well-being. My head would of fell off a long time ago. With everything he's progressed through 💯💪👊
Appears to be a very good approach. What has you recidivism rate been since implementing these programs?
My best friend from high school is here at the onion. He gets released in 2032, good guy, just got messed up with the wrong crowd.
Places like this show the world who we really are.
Great video
This whole video is trying to make red onion seem like the prison that is not.
To Hell with the law. I'm gonna do something illegal not because it helps me, but because it makes the authorities cry.
Wow this is amazing change compared to the old way this will help the offenders improve and change.
35 years for two armed robberies is messed up
He is clearly a violent person. You should let him stay at your house.
Solid Docu - nice work
It's full of shit, all of it. This place is brutal!
I wish all prisons could implement this in their prisons!
Nice respectively very nice but in reality way diff facilities then Western californian State prisons systems... Looks very possitive ....good video..
The guy’s head in the thumbnail looks like a red onion.
0:32
For the SAM convicts he really only had to say “this is the group of inmates that Forest Gump and his simple yet happy pal Bubba would be a part of.”
I hope they were able to keep these programs in place since the pandemic happened.
What a surprise i got when i saw The Step down programme, offenders have waited a long time for this chance to progress, well done Red onion Staff from The United Kingdom👌
Whatever.. they never do a proper walk through. They don't give a crap about the inmates or cleanliness until the inspector come.
Good people making a difference to otherwise lost individuals.
It'd be wonderful to see these types of programs adapted to suit little one's in schools. A real education to change society early in life. None of us are responsible for the dialogue that is impressed into our minds before age 5. Everything goes into our subconscious up to then. Then we act out of that for the rest of our lives.
Congratulations to these people in this program. Staff, inmates and higher officials making it possible.
Good people? Wow. So you have never been involved with the criminal justice system of America then. Because the only people who are under the impression that they are doing a good job are people who have never been involved with it. Make no mistake it is aptly named because what they do there is damn criminal as it has become an industry instead of a chance at real Rehabilitation. Regardless of what the propaganda video says.
Don’t be fooled, look online for all the civil cases filed throughout the years by different inmates citing the same complaints of abuse and many of the same staff names. My loved one has been there for 33 years for a non violent offense of robbery. Every time he’s up for parole he has a bogus charge pending which causes him to be denied. He has filed many civil suits and been forced to withdraw many after suffering retaliation. Even with video evidence his other cases go unfounded because the same judges are all rubbing elbows with corrections. My loved one was kept in seg for 8 years straight. He was still put in seg on and off after that without justification.
There should be some agreement to companies that inmates work for inside prison should also have jobs for those same inmates once they get into the freeworld. The only reason they do not is simply because profits are 100x better paying that same person in prison to work for them at .30 per hour then say 15.00 an hr to the same people who are released into the freeworld after working and earning those same companies so many insane profits and tax deductions using prisoners as 100% of there employess. Don't hate the player,hate the game! Just as an addict chooses to use these companies choose to not improve or "rehabilitate" inmates.Why bother, so you can gain those same employees again for another 3to5years in just a few months later . System is completely broken and is chosen not to be fixed!
This is great if it runs smoothly and they do everything they say
The idea is to protect the public and punish offenders, not create jobs
Locking a human in a cage for 13 hours a day and having those brights on 24/7 is torture sensory deprivation
What a difference” thx uploader 👍💯
If prison was the answer to crime, this would be the safest place on the planet. Same old tired ideas for the same problem. I thought that was the definition of insanity, to repeat the same action but expect a different result. One day we will stop thinking about punishment and start to think of solutions to locking up the most people on the planet. Prison and jail are about punishment, not rehabilitaion, whatever that means. It's ok if that is what you want it to be, but keep in mind that 98% of all inmates in this country will walk the street again, hope they don't deccide to take their anger out on you! If you consider yourself civilized, you should demand a better system than this expensive cash cow we have now.
Amen!! That's exactly what I'm screamin!!
well said.
Thats right
Scott Brooks exactly but can't fault'em for trying.
Scott Brooks YOU ARE RIGHT ON! Half of the people who impose punishment instead of rehabilitation are stealing, lying, bringing drugs and phones in the prison or breaking the law themselves....and have some nerve to look down on others like they can't change.
what happened to the inmate randall??
he's in Gen Pop now.
Check out Randy's podcast, Red Onion Randy. Good stuff!
Wow, this prison has gone from the worse to the best, well done guys love from England to all COs and prisoners xx
Lmao whatever dude my brother is here and he can tell you that indeed it’s WAYYY worse I get your from England but I don’t want you thinking that place changed for the better because it hasn’t
I remember when the warden was chief of security at Powhatan
There's a spiritual sequel to this documentary at Red Onion and a lot of these same inmates interviewed are interviewed on that one as well and they're still in segregation years later.
Well. Hmmm. Watching the video and reading the comments I am not encouraged by the VA DOC'S transparency or their ability to maintain even minimum standards óf care for inmates.
My fiance is incarcerated at another facility in Virginia. There is a wall of silence from the DOC relative to heat mitigation measures during the recent heat wave or if they have a plan to address the recent epidemic of inmate deaths at many of the correctional facilities in our state, including the recent deaths at Greensville, Nottoway and Red Onion.
,
The way the talk is like they have food in their mouth . haha
Well done. Superb.
Lars is the product of institutionalization.
MtNeitz 88 nah, he is just extremely intelligent and knows how to manipulate like a pro
@@courtneybealdavis6493 exactly
I be up in da onion right now. Online in the library. The prison is much worse in here now.
" Probably half of my class is going to be going home in the next 10 to 15 years "
who have sentences that would be 3 times lower in other states
Yeah that 85% is WILD.
@@buddhaawakens3264 here in Canada its 2/3
SCOTT RICHESON WAS MY COUNSEL AT THE OLD VIRGINIA STATE PEN. 500 SPRING STREET IN THE 1980s she still work for doc
What that inmate said it's the nail on the head. They give you everything you need to succeed but if you don't want that you won't.
I would love to be a treatment officer
All these guys just needed desperately early in life,Love,Authority,Guidance,and Compassion.
The U.S is simply devoid of this trait.Shame on America !!!!!