Barbara Wheeler, warden of Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, the largest women’s prison in Virginia, is retiring amidst claims and allegations of discrimination and segregation.
Additionally, the Associated Press reports that Virginia state Sen. Frank Ruff asked the Department of Corrections to investigate claims that the prison made it difficult and reduced the access of inmates to religious services.
According to the latest story, the Associated Press reported in June that gay inmates were segregated, with lesbians inmates with short hair and baggy clothes kept apart in the “butch-wing.”
Usually, the prison keeps a list of all the inmates who will attend religious services. This list is updated every three months, but if an inmate changes housing situation, and under other circumstances, she is removed from the list.
According to the story, inmates were also denied access to the services if their hair was too long. Furthermore, lay chaplain visits had stopped and so did programs through that office.
In a November 25 Associated Press story, inmates who entered the prison before Wheeler became warden (in 2004) and subsequently returned after she took office, say that the changes in policies and treatment of inmates were visible and palpable.
"I know that I’m here for punishment and rehabilitation," writes one inmate. "However, does it have to be hell?"
