RED ONION STATE PRISON AND IT''S FOOD SERVICE SCHEME: IMPROPRIETIES AND VIOLATIONS BY P. SCARBERRY FOOD OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

The improprieties being done and violations by Red Onion State Prison [ROSP] food service under the supervision of P. Scaeberry, Food Operations Director [FOD] doesn't end with denials and deprivations of adequate and well-balanced meals, for Prisoners confined in Solitary confinement, [Administrative Segregation]. ROSP food service utilizes a meal serving procedure that relies primarily on ROSP guards or security to serve meals to prisoners confined in ROSP Solitary Confinement. This meal serving procedure is done without supervision by any certified food service personnel who have the legal responsibility for all food issues. Instead, P. Scarberry the ROSP Food Operations Director has given meal serving responsibility to unsupervised prison guards who are unwilling to ensure that meals are served at correct temperature. Subsequently, P. Scarberry ROSP'S FOD is a party to a ROSP food scheme operational scheme that isn't accountable to Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Department of Corrections [VADOC] food service guidelines and policy directives. Nor has there been any meaningful and transparent-external and accountable oversight.

The scheme is simple: it denies accountability from all supervisory positions at ROSP concerning meal issues.  ROSP Prisoners are told that when ROSP guards serve meals it is the Prisoners responsibility to then tell the prison guard whatever issues there are with the meal and the prison guard is supposed to contact food service if, for example, items are missing on meal trays, if meal portions are wrong. this scheme makes a mockery of the fact that it is P. Scarberry responsibility and legal obligation to ensure that a Prisoner's meal is in compliance with Virginia and United States law and VADOC food policy.

Naturally, what happens is ROSP guards ignore Prisoner's claim. Without any supervision from food service during meal serving, Prison guards are left to their own attitudes and bias unresponsiveness and when complaints and grievances are filed concerning violations with the meals, prison guards lie and claim nothing was wrong with the meal or the Prisoner never complained about anything. This is done particularly with a wink and a nod tacit approval from P. Scarberry and ROSP officials who intrinsically use food as punishment contrary to Virginia law.

Furthermore, Prison Guards are quick to speak for Food Service, defending food service and P. Scarberry improprieties and violations. For example, when spoiled milk is served, prison guards are extremely reluctant to notify food service. When meals are served cold in violation of VADOC policy, prison guards will claim that's how the food service sent the meals over when in reality prison guards didn't plug up the food cart to keep the meals warm as VADOC policy and ROSP post orders requires of them.  When trays are served crusted dirty with earlier meals, meaning ROSP food service employees failed their supervisory duties to ensure that trays were actually washed and properly cleaned, not to mention the potential for meningitis and other diseases.  It becomes a major issue and issues with meals and surrounding meal serving, are the primary source of the majority of problems that escalate into confrontation and incidents at ROSP. Which could just as easily be eliminated were P. Scarberry and ROSP food service employees supervising meal servings.  When P. Scarberry fails to serve the correct food portion size, prison guards who are ill-suited and trained to assume food service obligations become combative and indifferent when challenged over the violations by a recipient prisoner and the prison guard typical refrain is "that's what the kitchen sent over" when a Prisoner protest and resists, ROSP officials are quick to punish the Prisoner by either tying the Prisoner to the bunk for days on end, placing the Prisoners on stripped cell, placing Prisoner in handcuffs, chains, and shackles in a doubled over the manner that renders the prisoner unable to stand erect for hours at times days.  Prisoners are gassed with OC Pepper Gas, in violation of prohibitions against its use in an 8x10 windowless cell.  All these examples are consequences of P. Scarberry's unwillingness to comply with the directives of VADOC food policy. P. Scarberry Director also violates VADOC food policy by rotating meals calibrated by VADOC Master Menu for lunch and dinner of separate and different days.  P. Scarberry violates VADOC food service manual requirement that the Food Operations Director keep track of and log of food items the Prisoner population isn't eating, because of her failure to supervise meal servings, she is unaware of what the Prison Population in ROSP Solitary Confinement are not eating.  P. Scarberry Director violates VADOC food service guidelines concerning meal portion size.  Because she consistently fails to comply with the meal portion size and provide Prisoners confined in Solitary Confinement with an adequate and nutritional balanced meal and this specific meal portion size violation is done deliberately.

Another aggravating factor is both Unit Manager A. Duncan and building Lieutenant C Gilbert, security supervisor of C/building, which is the primary Solitary Confinement building are apathetic and unconcerned in requiring and ensuring compliance from prison guards serving meals with VADOC food service policy.  Both Unit Manager Duncan and building Lieutenant Gilbert virtually enable the lying and malfeasance by prison guards because a simple review of the cell house's in pod surveillance camera will reveal and show that prison guards are lying.  But rarely is this done because prison guards keep on violating VADOC food service policy.

If the state of Virginia intended on pursuing Prison Food Policy as practiced by P. Scarberry, it would state so. However contrary to P.Scarberry's actions with her petty-tyrannical violations of VADOC Food Service guidelines, the state of Virginia hasn't.

By William Thorpe

William Thorpe is confined in Solitary Confinement at Red Onion State Prison since 1998