The Virginia Department of Corrections fired an officer May 18 who previously criticized leadership at the agency. In a termination notice, the department claimed Lt. Kelsey Haley surfed the internet on work time — the final straw in a series of alleged misdeeds.
Haley said he believes the punishment’s severity differs from an unnamed VADOC warden whom the department found bullied lower-level employees, made racist remarks, lied to investigators and asked female job applicants under the age of 21 if they were “ready for the d—” they might encounter from imprisoned males. That warden was suspended for a week and transferred to a new facility, according to VADOC paperwork.
The differing discipline reinforces the need for an oversight panel focused on the corrections department, according to Shawn Waneta, a policy strategist at the ACLU of Virginia. The department has faced several lawsuits in recent years over its use of solitary confinement and one of its facilities, Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, has repeatedly failed to meet the terms of a federal consent decree over poor health care and deaths of incarcerated people.
The department spent $1.8 million on outside counsel in lawsuits from Sept. 30, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2022, according to public recordsobtained by the ACLU and reviewed by VPM News.
Legislation creating a board and ombudsman to oversee VADOC sailed through the state Senate with unanimous, bipartisan support, only to reach an abrupt dead-end in a House...
Washington, May 6 (IANS) India's Operation Sindoor, launched after the heinous terror attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 last year and witnessed Pakistan-backed ter...