Two inmates who burned themselves at Red Onion State Prison transferred out of state
VENN
WISE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has confirmed that two inmates, who purposefully burned themselves while at Red Onion State Prison have been transferred to out-of-state facilities.
Ekong Eshiet and Demetrius Wallace -- both outspoken inmates on the conditions they've experienced in prison -- are the two men who were transferred.
This comes after 8News investigated the conditions inmates are living in at Red Onion, speaking to current and former inmates and Virginia lawmakers looking to make a change.
The VADOC has confirmed that seven men have purposefully burned themselves at Red Onion in the last year. We first reported on this in November 2024 after the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus said 12 men set themselves on fire due to "inhumane and degrading" conditions. The VADOC said later that six men, not 12, burned themselves using "improvised devices" and by tampering with electrical outlets.
Then, on Jan. 12, VADOC confirmed another inmate did the same. The VADOC told 8News all seven men were referred to mental health treatment.
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The DOC said Eshiet and Wallace were transferred as part of the Interstate Corrections Compact, which, according to its website, "Enables administrative and judicial officers to enter into contracts and agreements for cooperative care, treatment, and rehabilitation of offenders sentenced to or confined in prisons and other correctional institutions."
We are working to confirm which facilities they were transferred to and why.
