Covid in kitchens and Racism with New Warden

I want to make a few reports pertaining to conditions at Pocahontas State Correctional Center in Pocahontas, Virginia. the first issue I want to report is that since the arrival of the new warden, Tikki Hicks, that instances of discrimination have skyrocketed. Staff are flagrantly targeting prisoners of minority ethnicity, religion, and nationality, as well as homosexuals and gender variant prisoners. Prisoners who receive the kosher diet are being given spoiled meals, rotten fruits and vegetables, and foods that have gone beyond their expiration date. Prisoners of majority religions, ethnicity, etc. are fed much better and with larger portions. Since the arrival of the new warden this prison has become little more than a cleverly disguised concentration camp. Warden Hicks, a woman of color, either condones this repugnant behavior or she is impotent and unable to control her staff. All of our complaints have fallen on deaf ears or have simply vanished.

The next issue pertains to introduction of Covid-19 into the prison. Infractions and outbreaks consistently began with inmate kitchen workers who contracted the infection from kitchen staff. There is no means to detect illness or to prevent it from entering the facility. Inmate kitchen workers are not permitted to leave their jobs under threat of disciplinary action and must go to work or risk an increase in sentence length. Prisoners at this prison must risk their health and even their lives just to get a meal. Once again our complaints fall on deaf ears or are simply lost.

The final issue pertains to prisoner education. The security officer in the education department is aggressive, verbally abusive, threatening, and harassing. Prisoners simply do not want to go to the educational department because of this officer – Frank D. Kimble. Many GED students are willing to give up their education and force disciplinary action rather than be terrorized daily by this officer. And again, our complaints fall on deaf ears and are ignored or lost.

For a Better Tomorrow.