Retaliation, Secrecy, and Deaths in Custody in Virginia’s Western Region Prisons: Evidence from River North, Red Onion, and Wallens Ridge State Prisons

By: UPROAR Admin · December 11, 2025

Protect Kenneth Evans – Witness at Risk After the Killing of Officer Jeremy Hall

Protect Kenneth Evans
Witness at Risk After the Killing of Officer Jeremy Hall

🚦 Quick Start — How to use this page

Short on time? Do Oversight Email → DOC Contact Form → Calls (including your legislators) → Report Back. You can submit the DOC form anonymously if needed.

Skim the red witness-at-risk alert and the background summary below.
Send the oversight email to General Assembly committees (pre-written; personalize the first line if you can).
Submit a DOC “Contact Us” form using the gray text and form tips below.
Make 1–2 calls using the script — start with your own Senator and Delegate, then call DOC and oversight numbers. Voicemail still counts.
Report what you did at the bottom so we can coordinate next steps.

🚨 Crisis overview 📚 Background ✉️ Oversight email 📞 Call script 📝 DOC Contact Form ✅ Report back

This page focuses on Kenneth Evans’s current situation as a material witness at Red Onion State Prison — and the systemic pattern of retaliation, deaths, and secrecy in Virginia’s Western Region prisons. For the earlier River North campaign (TB fraud, fires, and collective punishment), see our original page: “Protect Kenneth Evans – End Retaliation & Collective Punishment.”

Kenneth Evans, Virginia prisoner and witness — Kenneth Evans (#1446064), a material witness now held in segregation at Red Onion State Prison.

🚨 Witness at Risk — Shock Belt, Retaliation, and a Family Conflict of Interest

Who: Kenneth Evans (#1446064), a long-time witness who has reported serious allegations (River North fires, TB fraud, collective punishment), now in segregation at Red Onion State Prison.
What he saw: A white male prisoner, now identified as John Holomon Russell, stab a correctional officer in the face in a hallway — and then be beaten “to a pulp… stomped… beat the hell out of him” by staff while already down.
Other cases he has reported: Evans is also a key witness in a recent beating and pepper-spray incident at Red Onion involving Javon Lamont Arrington (#1421147), who was allegedly stripped, beaten, and sprayed while the prison was on lockdown and then placed on “suicide watch” in three-piece restraints.
What DOC did to Evans:
- Two days after the killing of Officer Jeremy Hall, Evans was placed in a shock belt at River North and reports being tased multiple times until he lost consciousness.
- That same day, he was transferred to Red Onion, stripped naked, told he was there for “probable involvement in a murder,” and put in an intake cell smeared with feces and blood with no mattress or hygiene.
- He is now held in indefinite segregation with no written charge, no hearing, and no street charge, labeled a “threat to staff and inmates.”
Conflict of interest: The major at Red Onion is Major Hall, whom Evans and others identify as the first cousin of slain officer Jeremy Hall. Evans is effectively being held in his accuser’s family member’s prison while treated as connected to the killing.
Pattern of abuse: Multiple prisoners (including Evans and Eric Thompson) describe Officer Hall as someone who shot people with guns and blasted them with mace “for no reason” and “pushed” people daily — contradicting DOC’s portrayal of a purely model officer.
How Evans feels: He says he is on “borrowed time,” a “sitting duck,” and that “these people are going to kill me” if he stays in the Western Region.

Immediate need: Move Kenneth Evans out of the Western Region and out from under the Hall family’s chain of command; open an independent investigation into the beating of John Holomon Russell and the use of the shock belt and segregation against Evans as a witness.

📚 What’s happening — Red Onion & Western Region

Beating of John Holomon Russell: After the hallway stabbing at River North, Evans reports seeing Russell beaten “to a pulp… stomped… beat the hell out of him” in a hallway. Staff told him, “Shut up, you don’t get a chance to scream.” Prisoners widely fear Russell will be “killed and covered up.”
Recent beating of Javon Lamont Arrington (#1421147): On December 10, 2025, at around 11:00 a.m., while Red Onion was on lockdown, officers reportedly took Mr. Arrington out of his cell, slammed him against a wall, tried to break his arm, stripped him and left him barefoot, beat him, and sprayed him with chemical agents. He was then put in three-piece restraints and on so-called “suicide watch.” Loved ones and advocates describe this as deliberate sexual humiliation and degradation meant to break his dignity and intimidate others. His family was told of the incident the evening of December 10; advocates spoke with them the morning of December 11 and still have no honest account from DOC.
Shock belt & degrading intake: Evans was put in a shock belt at River North, tased until he blacked out, then shipped to Red Onion and thrown naked into a filthy cell with no mattress, soap, toilet paper, or writing materials.
Indefinite segregation with no charge: At Red Onion, he has no disciplinary charge, no ICA hearing, no new criminal charge. Yet he’s held as a “threat” and treated as if connected to the killing solely on the basis of being a witness and prior reporting.
Torture-like practices: Evans and others describe:
- People sprayed with O2/OC spray, stripped, put in thin smocks on “suicide watch,” left cold and burning with no shower.
- Sexualized strip-search commands (“spread your butt cheeks until we see a wink”) sometimes recorded on body cameras.
- Filthy cells, feces-filled toilets pushed through vents, minimal hygiene, and a “Viking/pagan” guard clique involved in weapon plants and orchestrated assaults.
Deaths in the same region: Families have reported:
- Michael Hailey (Red Onion) – family still waiting on toxicology; he wrote about mistreatment, and his brother has letters.
- Bobby Nicholson Jr. (Red Onion) – a long-time litigant who spent years suing DOC leadership over abuse and medical neglect before dying in custody.
- Aubrey McKay (Wallens Ridge) – body reportedly showed shackling-type injuries and a fractured larynx after staff stabbings and heightened repression.
FOIA and secrecy: In a recorded call, VADOC’s FOIA officer first claimed key records were “not releasable under FOIA,” then admitted the Department is simply “exercising its discretion” not to release them — confirming that secrecy is a choice, not a legal requirement.

For a longer briefing (with citations to Virginia Code, the Mandela Rules, and Virginia’s new death-in-custody framework), download the full report: Locked Cells, Locked Records: Retaliation, Deaths, and Secrecy across VADOC. It includes detailed sections on Kenneth Evans, John Holomon Russell, Javon Lamont Arrington (#1421147), and deaths such as Michael Hailey, Bobby Nicholson Jr., and Aubrey McKay. It’s ideal to print or attach for meetings with legislators and oversight bodies.

✉️ Step 1: Email DOC, Oversight & Legislators

This email is aimed at key General Assembly members, VADOC leadership, and state oversight. It:

Identifies Kenneth Evans as a witness at risk,
Flags the beating of John Holomon Russell and the pepper-spray assault on Javon Lamont Arrington,
Names recent deaths in custody in the same region, and
Demands protection for witnesses and people who report harm and an end to VADOC’s information blackout.

Dear Members of the Senate Rehabilitation & Social Services Committee,
Dear Members of the House Public Safety Committee,
and other concerned Virginia officials,

I am writing to request your immediate intervention in the case of Kenneth Evans (#1446064) and the wider pattern of retaliation, deaths, and secrecy in Virginia’s Western Region prisons.

Mr. Evans has repeatedly reported serious allegations involving collective punishment, TB-test falsification, fires at River North Correctional Center, and most recently the pepper-spray assault on Javon Lamont Arrington (#1421147) at Red Onion State Prison. After the November 17 killing of Master Corrections Officer Jeremy Hall, he now reports:

• He personally saw a white male prisoner, now identified as John Holomon Russell, stab an officer in the face in a hallway at River North and then be beaten “to a pulp… stomped… beat the hell out of him” by staff while already down and under control.
• Two days after the killing, a Special Response Team put Mr. Evans in a shock belt, tased him until he lost consciousness, then tased him again after he woke up.
• That same day, he was transferred to Red Onion State Prison, stripped naked, told he was there for “probable involvement in a murder,” and placed in an intake cell smeared with feces and blood, without a mattress or basic hygiene.
• He is now in indefinite segregation at Red Onion with no written charge, no hearing, and no new criminal charge, labeled a “threat to staff and inmates.”

Mr. Evans also reports a serious conflict of interest:

• The officer killed at River North was Jeremy Hall.
• The major at Red Onion is Major Hall, identified by Mr. Evans as Jeremy Hall’s first cousin.
• Mr. Evans is being held in the major’s prison while treated as if connected to the killing of his cousin, simply because he is a witness and reporting party.

In addition, eyewitnesses from inside report that on December 10, 2025, around 11 a.m., while Red Onion was on lockdown, staff pulled Javon Lamont Arrington (#1421147) from his cell, threw him against a wall, tried to twist or break his arm, stripped him, left him barefoot, beat him, pepper-sprayed him, put him in restraints, and placed him on “suicide watch” in a manner that appears to be sexual humiliation and degradation rather than appropriate mental-health care. When his mother called the prison that evening and again the next morning, she was told everything was fine and immediately asked who had given her this information—raising serious concerns about retaliation against witnesses and people who report harm rather than protection of the people being harmed.

These events are unfolding in a region already marked by deaths in custody:

• Families of Michael Hailey and Bobby Nicholson Jr. report their loved ones have died at Red Onion since the Hall killing. Both had histories of reporting mistreatment, and in Bobby Nicholson’s case, years of federal civil-rights litigation against DOC leadership over unconstitutional conditions and medical neglect.
• Earlier in 2025, the family of Aubrey McKay reported that his body showed shackling-type injuries and a fractured larynx after staff stabbings and heightened repression at Wallens Ridge.

At the same time, VADOC’s FOIA practices make meaningful oversight nearly impossible. In a recorded call, VADOC’s FOIA officer first claimed key records were “not releasable under FOIA,” then admitted that the “record of incarceration” exemption is discretionary and that the Department simply chooses to withhold information about deaths and serious incidents. Families at other facilities, including Greensville, are being told that hundreds of pages of records exist but are being withheld because VADOC is “exercising its discretion.”

In light of all this, I respectfully request that you:

1. Secure immediate safety measures for Kenneth Evans (#1446064).
   • Remove him from the Western Region and from facilities where Hall family members work.
   • Either charge him and provide full due process or release him from segregation and classification as a “threat.”
   • Ensure safe, non-retaliatory access to phone, mail, legal counsel, and outside oversight.

2. Demand an independent investigation into the treatment of John Holomon Russell, Javon Lamont Arrington, and the use of shock belts and segregation against Mr. Evans as a witness.
   • Preserve and produce hallway, transport, and body-worn camera footage.
   • Review use-of-force reports, medical and mental-health records, segregation logs, and investigative files.
   • Ensure the investigation is not controlled solely by VADOC’s internal chain of command.

3. Initiate a formal review of recent deaths in the Western Region, including Michael Hailey, Bobby Nicholson Jr., and Aubrey McKay.
   • Require timely notification and disclosure to families under Virginia’s death-in-custody reporting framework.
   • Involve OSIG, the Healthcare Compliance Unit, and, where appropriate, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

4. Address VADOC’s information monopoly and FOIA “discretion.”
   • Examine how the “record of incarceration” exemption is being used to withhold basic death and abuse-related information.
   • Consider clarifying that core details about deaths in custody and serious use of force must be disclosed as a matter of law, not departmental choice.
   • Meet with affected families and organizations like UPROAR to hear how this secrecy is harming both incarcerated people and staff safety.

5. Put concrete protections in place for all witnesses and people who report harm.
   • Treat Kenneth Evans, Javon Lamont Arrington, and others who speak up as people to be protected—not punished.
   • Prohibit and monitor against retaliatory violence, fabricated charges, medical and mental-health neglect, or isolation used to silence people who report abuse.
   • Establish and publicize safe reporting channels for incarcerated people, staff, and families, and track and report what safeguards are being implemented.

People inside, their loved ones, and even some staff have been warning for months that the combination of collective punishment, torture-like practices, and information blackout is creating exactly the kind of lethal environment that kills both prisoners and officers. What happens to Kenneth Evans—and to others who risk everything to tell the truth—will send a clear signal about whether Virginia protects witnesses and values truth, or whether it allows retaliation and secrecy to prevail.

Please let me know in writing what steps you will take in response to these reports and whether you will meet with families and advocates to address the structural issues that allow VADOC to control the flow of information.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[City, State]
[Relationship, if desired – e.g., “Family advocate,” “Concerned community member”]

📤 Open Email Draft

📞 Step 2: Call Your Legislators & Key Officials (60–90 seconds)

Start by calling your own state Senator and Delegate so they hear directly from their constituents, then call DOC leadership, OSIG, and the Governor. You can look up who represents you using the official “Who’s My Legislator?” tool.

Your legislators (start here)
• Use “Who’s My Legislator?” to find your Virginia Senator and Delegate.
• Call their Richmond offices using the script below. Say you are a constituent and ask them to contact VADOC, OSIG, and the Governor about Kenneth Evans and the Western Region.

Oversight & Operations
• VADOC Director — (804) 887-8080
• Chief of Corrections Operations — (804) 887-8078
• OSIG Corrections Ombudsman (main) — (804) 251-1778
• Governor’s Office — (804) 786-2211

Facility
• Red Onion State Prison (Warden) — (276) 544-6333
• River North Correctional Center (Warden) — (276) 773-2518

Hello, my name is [Name] in [City]. I’m a constituent and I’m calling about Kenneth Evans, #1446064, and about the handling of the killing of Officer Jeremy Hall, the treatment of the accused prisoner John Holomon Russell, and a related beating at Red Onion involving Javon Lamont Arrington, #1421147. Reports from inside say that Mr. Evans: • Saw a white male prisoner, now identified as John Holomon Russell, stab an officer in the face in a hallway at River North, and then saw staff beat him “to a pulp… stomped… beat the hell out of him” while he was already down. • Was then put in a shock belt, tased repeatedly until he lost consciousness, and transferred to Red Onion, where he was stripped, thrown into a filthy cell, and is now in segregation with no charge or hearing. • Has also given testimony about a December 10, 2025 incident at around 11 a.m. at Red Onion, where another prisoner, Javon Lamont Arrington, #1421147, was reportedly taken from his cell during lockdown, slammed against a wall, stripped, beaten, sprayed with chemical agents, and then put in three-piece restraints on “suicide watch” in a way that families describe as sexual humiliation and retaliation. He is being held in a prison where the major is reported to be the slain officer’s first cousin, which is an obvious conflict of interest and creates extreme risk of retaliation against him as a witness and reporting party. I am asking you to: 1) Remove Kenneth Evans from the Western Region and from facilities where Hall family members work, and either charge him and provide due process or release him from segregation and “threat” status. 2) Open an independent investigation into the beating of John Holomon Russell and the use of the shock belt and segregation against Mr. Evans as a witness, preserving all hallway and transport video, body-cam footage, medical records, and use-of-force reports. 3) Investigate the December 10, 2025 use of force against Javon Lamont Arrington at Red Onion, including all video, use-of-force reports, and medical/mental-health documentation, and ensure he and his family are fully informed and protected from retaliation. 4) Review recent deaths at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge, including those of Michael Hailey, Bobby Nicholson Jr., and Aubrey McKay, and ensure families get full, timely information. Please send a written response to [your email] confirming what steps you will take and who the point of contact will be. Thank you.

📝 Step 3: Submit a DOC “Contact Us” Form

This step puts DOC Central and the facility on written notice and asks for specific safety and medical actions using VADOC’s online contact form. It’s short and simple — just copy the gray text, paste it into the form, and add your contact info.

Form tips — VADOC Contact Us page

Go to: VADOC “Contact Us”.
Under Does your message regard an inmate? select Yes and fill in:
- Inmate Name: Kenneth Evans
- DOC#: 1446064
- Current facility: Red Onion State Prison (ROSP), Pound, VA
For Topic, you can choose Other or, if available, a category like Medical/Mental Health or Security Level & Annual Review — anything that is not “Jail Concerns.”
For Subject, you can write:
Urgent safety & witness retaliation concern – Kenneth Evans #1446064 at Red Onion
For the Message box, paste the gray text below. You can trim or personalize it if you like.
At the end, ask for a written response and keep:
- A screenshot/PDF of what you submitted, and
- Any auto-confirmation or reply email from DOC.

I am writing about Kenneth Evans, #1446064, currently housed at Red Onion State Prison in Pound, Virginia.

I have been informed that on or about November 17, 2025, Mr. Evans witnessed a white male prisoner, now identified as John Holomon Russell, stab a correctional officer in the face in a hallway at River North Correctional Center and then saw staff beat Mr. Russell “to a pulp… stomped… beat the hell out of him” while he was already down and under control. Two days later, a Special Response Team reportedly placed Mr. Evans in a shock belt, tased him until he lost consciousness, transferred him to Red Onion, stripped him, and placed him in an intake cell smeared with feces and blood with no mattress or basic hygiene. He is now being held in segregation at Red Onion with no written disciplinary charge, no hearing, and no new criminal charge, while being labeled a “threat to staff and inmates.”

Mr. Evans is also a key witness in a more recent incident at Red Onion involving another prisoner, Javon Lamont Arrington, #1421147. On December 10, 2025, at around 11:00 a.m., while the facility was on lockdown, officers reportedly took Mr. Arrington out of his cell, slammed him against a wall, tried to break his arm, stripped him and left him barefoot, beat him, sprayed him with chemical agents, and then placed him in three-piece restraints on “suicide watch.” His family was only notified through information from inside that evening. Loved ones and advocates understand this as sexual humiliation and retaliation designed to break his dignity and intimidate others.

Mr. Evans also reports that the Major at Red Onion is a close relative of the slain officer, Jeremy Hall, which creates a serious conflict of interest and fear of retaliation. Given his status as a material witness and reporting party, I am extremely concerned for his safety and physical and mental health.

I respectfully request that VADOC:
1) Ensure an immediate medical and mental-health evaluation for Mr. Evans, documented in his chart;
2) Review and remove him from any housing or classification under the supervision of staff who are relatives of Officer Hall or otherwise directly involved in these incidents;
3) Preserve all relevant video (hallway, transport, intake, and any body-worn cameras), use-of-force reports, segregation logs, and medical records from November 17, 2025, forward, including records relating to both Kenneth Evans and Javon Lamont Arrington;
4) Review the December 10, 2025 use of force against Mr. Arrington, including whether the use of chemical agents, stripping, restraints, and “suicide watch” was appropriate or constituted abuse, and ensure that his family is fully and promptly informed; and
5) Provide a written response explaining what steps are being taken to protect Mr. Evans from retaliation as a witness, to safeguard Mr. Arrington’s safety and dignity, and to prevent similar incidents going forward.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.

✅ Step 4: Report Your Action

This (encrypted, anonymous) form helps UPROAR track how many emails, calls, and DOC forms went in so we can coordinate follow-up.

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Thank you for taking action. Protect witnesses. Break the information blackout. Stop retaliation before it costs more lives.

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