A man incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison died last month, a Virginia Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed to VPM News.

The man died Dec. 19 of natural causes, according to the VADOC official, citing confirmation by its Office of Law Enforcement Services and the state medical examiner’s preliminary findings.

“The VADOC’s Office of Law Enforcement Services has conducted an investigation into this incident and there is no evidence of foul play," spokesperson Carla Miles told VPM News in a Jan. 9 email.

Miles did not share whether the individual was being held in solitary confinement, was provided care outside of the prison or had a history of medical issues.

The death was first noted in a post by the Virginia Prisons Accountability Committee, which claimed the man had severe health issues and was denied treatment while in solitary confinement.

His death came three days after Virginia’s new prison ombudsman announced she would prioritize an investigation into the Wise County facility, where incarcerated people reportedly burned themselves in protest of their conditions.

During a Dec. 16 Virginia House Public Safety Committee meeting, Andrea Sapone said her newly created office within the state inspector general’s office — which will offer independent prison oversight — “takes all allegations of abuse seriously.” She said they would examine Red Onion’s practices and the welfare of individuals incarcerated there.

“OSIG and our Corrections Ombudsman were alerted to the death,” OSIG spokesperson Maggie Sotos told VPM News. “At this moment, we are prioritizing the investigation of the self-harm incidents at Red Onion and will be limiting the scope of the initial investigation to specifically those instances.”

Four of the five ombudsman specialist positions for Sapone’s unit have been filled since December, Sotos said.

“Additional crises, complaints, concerns, and issues will be examined separately with each specific facility inspection,” Sotos added.

After a recent visit, Delegate Michael Jones, D–Richmond, called for changes at the state prison, as well as an investigation into Red Onion’s practices and conditions.

Jones hinted at the death in a press release following his stop at Red Onion. He said he was told about the incident while there, but wasn’t made aware of the circumstances. The state legislator said Red Onion staff asked him to hold off on sharing details about the death until VADOC sent a press release — which hasn’t been issued.

“The VADOC does not routinely send out press releases in reference to natural caused deaths,” Miles told VPM News in an email.

Jones called for Sapone to investigate the circumstances of the death, telling VPM News that VADOC can’t be allowed to police itself.

“What organization can do their own audit on themselves? It’s gonna be slanted. It just is,” he said, stressing the need to “deconstruct this idea of revenue generation” through incarceration.

He called Red Onion “an economic engine” for the area. “We can’t be in the business of gaining profits and expecting revenue from incarcerating men and women,” Jones said.

Jones has drafted General Assembly legislation he hopes to introduce in 2026 to stop incarcerated Virginians from being housed 75 miles or more from their home locality, unless they do something “egregious while incarcerated,” he said.

He added that he wants to work with advocates on the legislative effort.

The Wise County facility has in the past faced lawsuits over its use of solitary confinement, including a case settled in 2021 with one man who was kept in solitary for more than 12 years.

Virginia’s top corrections official said the six recently confirmed self-harm cases were not tied to a protest over conditions at Red Onion, challenging claims of long-term solitary confinement and a lack of mental health resources at the facility.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever that there was any kind of a plot or any kind of a protest,” VADOC Director Chad Dotson told the House panel in December. He said “they did it because they wanted to get away from Red Onion,” adding that two of the six people have a history of “self-directed violence.”

Dotson said claims of “some kind of big plot” were “ginned” up online by an incarcerated individual and that those who don’t like repercussions for bad behavior would “continue to complain” about Red Onion.

As VPM News previously reported, an incarcerated correspondent with Prison Radio has been documenting conditions at the prison — and was being transferred from the facility as part of a settlement.

Earlier this week, The Appeal published internal emails showing Red Onion officials suggesting incarcerated people who burned themselves should be criminally charged for their actions and pay for their own treatment.

Dave Cantor contributed to this report.