RICHMOND, Va. – Today the ACLU of Virginia and co-counsel filed a motion on behalf of plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit Thorpe et al. v. Clarke et al., who are currently held in long-term solitary confinement at Red Onion State Prison and have been punished if they refused to sign false statements about their access to mental health resources.
The class action lawsuit alleges that for years, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) violated incarcerated people’s Constitutional rights by locking them in their cells for at least 20 hours each day, in grueling conditions, for years on end.
To be let out of their eight-by-ten foot cells, plaintiffs report racist verbal abuse and humiliating body cavity inspections. The prolonged solitary confinement has led to trouble sleeping and concentrating; stress-related weight loss; depression and anxiety; and suicidal ideation.
In October 2024, several people incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison attempted to set themselves on fire, resulting in severe burns. A reporter paraphrased an interview with one of them by saying:
“the racism and abuse, the hard and inhumane conditions at Red Onion, was so intolerable that he and others were setting themselves on fire in desperate attempts to be transferred away from the prison. These were not protests, he made clear, but acts of desperation (Prison Radio, “Self Immolation in Virginia Prisons,” Oct. 18, 2024).”
Following this incident, staff at Red Onion forced people held in VDOC’s long-term solitary confinement program to sign a so-called “Safety Agreement.” The agreement threatened punishment if signatories hurt themselves, and included statements falsely attesting that people in solitary have access to mental health resources, stress management techniques, communication with staff, and recreational and vocational activities.
No evidence exists that these statements are true, but Red Onion staff threatened that anyone who refused to sign the so-called “Safety Agreement” would have the power to their cell turned off. Less than a day later, the staff made good on their threats, cutting power to the cells of those who did not sign.
“Without electricity, people can't communicate with their loved ones. They can’t access religious or educational materials. They're completely cut off from the outside world, all for refusing to sign their name to something they believe is false,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Staff Attorney Geri Greenspan. “That’s not just cruel – it's unlawful."
Forcing people to sign the “Safety Agreement” is unconstitutional under the First Amendment: Red Onion staff can neither compel someone to say something they disagree with, nor retaliate against them for refusing to say it. It’s also unlawful under the Eighth Amendment, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act, both of which prohibit failing to provide people mental health treatment, or punishing them for a symptom like hurting themselves.
Lastly, because people held in solitary-like conditions can only access religious programming through their TV or tablet, cutting off electricity to their cell also violates their religious freedom. The ACLU of Virginia put VDOC on notice in February that punishing people for refusing to sign the “Safety Agreement” is unconstitutional, but received no response.
Today’s motion calls on the court to order the power restored to the cells of those plaintiffs in Thorpe who refused to sign the “Safety Agreement,” as well as to protect all plaintiffs who choose to exercise their First Amendment rights.
"People held in solitary at Red Onion often have pre-existing mental illness, and the conditions they endure inevitably make those mental health struggles worse,” said Ali & Lockwood’s Katie Ali. “Red Onion must treat self-harm for what it is: a mental health crisis, not a disciplinary issue, or a crime.”
Plaintiffs in this case ultimately will seek damages and an injunction permanently ending long-term solitary confinement in Virginia. ACLU of Virginia filed this case in May of 2019 with the help of White & Case LLP, and was appointed as class counsel in 2023 along with the law firms Covington & Burling LLP and Ali & Lockwood LLP.
