Former inmate reveals harsh realities of life inside Greensville Correctional Center

GREENSVILLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Robert Jeffrey was an inmate at the Greensville Correctional Center for ten months in 2023. He spoke to 8News in an exclusive interview to give his account of what he experienced behind bars at this troubled Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) facility. "There’s gotta be changes, there needs to be changes," Jeffrey said. In the last few weeks, two inmates and two correctional officers were stabbed at Greensville in separate incidents -- one of which involved a maximum-security prisoner, despite Greensville being a non-maximum-security prison. While Jeffery, who said he is speaking out on behalf of current inmates who cannot, was released before these recent stabbings -- he said he has vivid memories of his time at Greensville. "The prison was locked down for several weeks because people were overdosing and dying in the prison and they said they were trying to root it out," Jeffrey said. "But, as soon as we were able to get back out of our cells, it just kept flowing." RELATED: Inmate accused of stabbing two Greensville correctional officers also linked to K-9’s death, VADOC says Jeffrey said the facility was "swarmed with drugs" and that, with the level of screening visitors are subjected to, he believes that they are being supplied by someone on the inside. "It's not rocket science," Jeffrey said. "We're in the prison, the drugs are coming into the prison. How else is it going to get there?" Jeffrey said he was placed at Greensville for necessary dialysis care while serving time for an embezzlement conviction. He said the facility was unsafe for inmates and staff -- and that gangs and violence were prevalent. "You had to rely on yourself for safety, because if something happens, it takes a while before a team of [correctional officers] are coming in there," Jeffrey said. "There was never a time when we would have a guard in the pod area itself." Jeffrey said that the facility was chronically understaffed and that he would hear correctional officers complain about overtime, even double-time, to cover shifts. 8News previously reported that employees worked more than 100,000 hours of overtime over the course of six months last year. Jeffrey said that, due to the understaffing situation, the facility would often be put on lockdown during weekends or holidays when fewer correctional officers were available than normal. "When you're locked down, you can't call your parents -- you can't call your family members, can't call your children," Jeffrey said. "You don't have access to the phones, you have to stay within the cell." He said that some lockdowns would happen while temperatures inside the facility soared during the summer. He was at the facility when it was put on lockdown after inmate Naseem Roulack escaped from a Richmond-area hospital while there for treatment. "I didn't understand why they would lock down the prison when the young man escaped from the hospital," Jeffrey said. "But they locked down the prison." PREVIOUS: ‘I can’t answer that question’: Greensville Correctional leaders limited in response to concerns Jeffrey said more emphasis is needed on inmates' mental health, especially given the pressures many feel from being locked up. "When you’re sitting there knowing you have 10 years -- they need to escape," Jeffrey said. "I’m not justifying what they’re doing, but I do understand why they’re doing it." According to Jeffrey, he's witnessed the effects of such lacking mental health resources. "People I’ve seen one day playing cards, playing dominos -- they next day they’re dead, from an overdose," Jeffrey said. And Jeffrey said it’s not just mental health, but also physical health and nutrition, that needs improvement at Greensville. He pointed to a commonly-served meal the inmates called “meatrot.” Jeffrey described it as a combination of ground meats like chicken, pork and beef that was "just delivered on a plate." "A lot of people were experiencing intestinal problems," he said. "It’s just the level of treatment [and] trying to dehumanize someone ... [it's] something that I’ll always remember, I’ll always remember that." Jeffrey said that he believes correctional officers need better training, as they don’t know how to police effectively. According to him, many of them are younger than the inmates they watch over. 8News did receive a response to this story from the VADOC, in which it said there is a "zero-tolerance policy regarding drugs." It added that there are regular sweeps in and around the prison that have resulted in arrests, terminated staff and visitor suspensions. VADOC said the safety of inmates and staff is its "top priority." It stated that the Greensville facility has "a strong mental health team" and that it has hired a new food service senior director to help optimize the quality and presentation of meals. The department also stated that it is "actively focused on the recruitment and retention of its corrections offi