Five of the V.I. criminals being housed temporarily in Virginia prisons are currently in solitary confinement because they will not cut their hair, Bureau of Corrections Director Julius Wilson confirmed to the Senate Monday.
Wilson, who appeared for confirmation hearings before the Rules and Judiciary Committee, said Virginia allows inmates to keep long hair – such as dread locks – but requires those prisoners to be segregated from the general population. Other states simply forcibly cut the hair as a hygiene measure, giving inmates no say. And yet other states and territories, such as the Virgin Islands, allow prisoners to keep long hair, he said.
Sen. Sammuel Sanes, who raised the subject, asked why the prison system was not trying to bring the convicts back to the Virgin Islands, where they could keep their hair long in accordance with Rastafarian practice.
The prisoners shipped to Virginia are predominantly the most violent and troublesome, so it would be problematic to bring them back before repairs and improvements on prison facilities are completed, Wilson said.
"Some of these prisoners have attacked staff members and others have escaped several times before," he said. "The long-term goal is to bring them all back to better facilities."
Wilson was brought on board as BOC director in October 2008, when Gov. John deJongh Jr. appointed him to clean up in the aftermath of the escape of four prisoners. Since that time, the BOC moved out from under the Department of Justice to become a stand-alone agency under the Office of the Governor, delaying the confirmation process. Meanwhile, Wilson has been working steadily to meet the terms of a 1989 federal consent decree mandating improved conditions, he said. Health care and mental health care have been the court’s, and Wilson’s, highest priorities, he said, and there were now psychologists and psychiatrists on staff in both districts, he said.
Improvements to the prison’s physical facilities, from the kitchens to the cells, is ongoing but time consuming, he said. Nonetheless, Wilson said he expects to be "substantially" in compliance with the outstanding court orders within a year.
According to Wilson, staffing remains tight, both at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility on St. Croix, and the smaller Alva A. Swan Annex on St. Thomas. Both facilities need wardens, assistant wardens and substantially more corrections officers. Wilson has suggested individuals for the wardens and other top positions, but they are still going through the Personnel Department hiring process, he said.
Sen. Neville James asked how many officers were needed. Wilson said another 50 on St. Croix to reach a full complement of 150 officers, and another 20 on St. Thomas to reach that facility’s full complement of 69.
The committee sent Wilson’s nomination on to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.
The Rules Committee also gave favorable recommendations to deJongh’s four nominees to the UVI Board of Directors: Patricia Steele, Henry Smock, Sinclair Wilkinson and Edward Thomas. Smock has been a member of the board for 12 years and was being nominated for a new term. The others will be serving for the first time, if approved.
All four were sent out of committee with favorable recommendations. Richards abstained regarding Smock, saying his final vote on Smock’s re-nomination would hinge in part upon Smock bringing some revenue information to his office.
With the exception of Richard’s one abstention, each nominee was approved by: Sens. Sanes, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Neville James, Michael Thurland, Celestino White and Richards. Sen. Patrick Sprauve was absent.
