An Appeal For Prison Reform From The Inside

Charles Zellers has a stellar record of behavior over his nearly forty years of incarceration,and has been a positive role mentor for many younger incarcerated men at Buckingham and now at the Deerfield Correctional Center. Since he will likely not be eligible to serve on the Governor's Community Partnership Council on Corrections, I am posting some of his practical concerns here.

1). Remove the Keefe Group, LLC, from Commissary and Personal Property and allow Walmart, Sam's Club, etc. to bid on the commisary contract. Those who will provide inmates commissary and personal property at the lowest possible prices, lower than Keefe's.

2). Offer the following items on commissary and personal property:
> 1/8" = 1'0" scale drafting templates
> 3-ring binder
> Sharpie Pocket Style Highlighters, Assorted Fluorescent, chisel tip
> carbon paper
> healthier food items
> Reeves Sketching pencils - 12 artist grade - graphite
> Sharpie Highlighters Jumbo - assorted fluorescent colors
> wireless 2-way Headphone Splitter

3). Correctional Centers should be all about getting basic education, and should function as normal grades 1-12 schools. No one should be in regular school over 12 consecutive years. Once the inmate receives a GED, the inmate's case manager should look to see where the inmate will be released to, the businesses in that area that need help, or transfer the inmate to the facility that could provide him or her with the job skills needed to be released in that area.

4). State Prisons (Red Onion & Wallens Ridge): These two prisons should be used for the Incorrigible inmates only. Those inmates who refuse to follow their treatment plan such as obtaining a GED, Vocational Trade, Self-help Programs, etc. Housed in a separate housing unit shpuld be those with life and no possibility of parole and are willing to work.

5). Undercover Bosses: Insert undercover bosses into each VADOC facility secretively with only VADOC's Head of Security, Director, and other heads knowing. No one at the facility should know. Not even the Warden because they could be doing illegal things too.

6). Undercover Inmates: Selected inmates could have their reading or prescription glasses equipped with cameras to record the wrongdoings of staff.

7). Repeal Code of Virginia Section 53.1-190. Hold Account that authorizes VADOC to withhold a maximum of $25 from each inmates account until released. Move $25 to a new High-Yield Savings account for each inmate.

8). Repeal Code of Virginia Section 53.1-43.1. Savings Account that authorizes VADOC to withhold a maximum of $1,000 from each inmates account until released. Move all up to $1,000 to a new High-Yield Savings Account for each inmate.

9). High-Yield Savings Account (Fixed 6% APY tax free): Open each inmate their personal high-yield savings account that pays a fixed rate 6% APY that is tax free. 10% of all inmate received funds shall go into this account. The inmate can only remove funds from this account if s/he has a minimum of $25,000, is released from prison, has a medical code that will not allow the inmate to work any longer or has a terminal medical diagnosis.

10). Inmate Pay Increase (COV 53.1-32.1(c)(5)):
> unskilled pay increase $0.27 to $1.35
> semiskilled pay increase $0.35 to $1.75
> skilled pay increase $0.45 to $2.25
> ADA/Caregivers, Group Facilitators, Peer Mentors, Recovery Specialists and SAFETE Aides from $1.00 to $3.00 per hour

> Certified Peer Recovery Specialists and Vocational Aides/Tutors from $1.25 to $3.25 per hour

(these increases barely reflect the inflation rate since the current wages were set)

11). In-person and Video Visits: Every Inmate housed within the VADOC shall be allowed in-person and video visits with any immediate family member. This will include niece, nephew, great niece and nephew as long as they are with their legal parent or guardian. This includes all with barrier crimes or who have to be on the registry upon release. Those with sex offenses will be released one day too.

12). Close Marion Correctional Center: I have heard so many horror stories about how the staff at Marion C. C. abuses the inmates, I believe it should have an undercover boss and an undercover inmate housed there to investigate for 6 months to a year.

13). Governor Abigail Spanberger should work at reducing the VADOC population: Virginia prisons are overcrowded and understaffed leading to decompensations when left unmonitored. The inadequate training and unprofessionalism allows manipulations and extortions that lead to a humanitarian crisis.

14). VADOC is not protecting its disabled inmates. State law requires disabled inmates to be housed in a manner that provides for their Safety and Security. COV 53.1-266 and Virginia Administrative Code 6 VAC 15-45-530.

15). Online Services: Allow VADOC inmates to purchase online their local hometown newspaper or the one where their home plan is located.

16). Online Services: Unlimited access to career employment, vocational and job skill training apps and instructional videos. For example: Business and Office Management, College courses, AutoCAD, Computer-Aided Design, Drafting, Modeling and Rendering, Landscaping, Computer Game Design, Educational Games, Personal Finance, Adobe (Photoshop, Reader, PDF, PDF Layering), Technical Writing, Website Design, House Building, Surveying, Solar System Design and Installation, etc.

17). How To App: You type in what you want to know how to do and one or more How to videos pulls up and you watch them. FREE for ALL inmates.

18). VADOC Television: ALL VADOC Prisons shall have the following educational television stations and video series such as:
> Dirty Jobs
> Discovery
> HGTV
> How It Is Made
> Made In Virginia
> Modern Marvels
> MSNBC
> This Old House
> TVLAND.