BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — An “incident” involving a small group of inmates at Lawrenceville Correctional Center has resulted in another inmate being taken to the hospital. This is the second hospitalization in one week.
According to the GEO Group — the privately owned company that operates Lawrenceville Correctional — the unspecified incident occurred at the facility on Thursday, Aug. 24. As a result, one inmate was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and was returned to the prison later that day.
Following an inquiry from 8News, the GEO Group released a prepared statement containing no further details as to what had actually happened during the incident:
An incident occurred on August 24 at the Lawrenceville Correctional Facility involving a small group of inmates. As a result of the incident, one inmate was transported to a local area hospital for treatment, and he returned to the facility the same day. We take such incidents with the utmost seriousness, and we will continue to work diligently and in close collaboration with the Virginia Department of Corrections to prevent these types of incidents from occurring at the facility. The incident is under investigation by the Virginia Department of Corrections, and we have no further comment.
Statement from a spokesperson with the GEO Group
Earlier this week, 8News reached out to the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) for more information but the agency refused.
“The VADOC has a contract with The GEO Group and we follow the terms of the contract,” the VADOC spokesperson said.
The statement from the GEO Group spokesperson also cited contraband to be “an ongoing challenge that correctional facilities across the country are currently facing.”
To curtail drugs and other contraband from being introduced into the facility, we have recently invested in new technology, increased staff and training, and enhanced security measures, which includes increased drug testing and comprehensive facility-wide searches. We have also invested significant resources to deploy a state-of-the-art drone detection system and sophisticated contraband detection scanners.
Statement from a spokesperson with the GEO Group
Lawrenceville Correctional — the only privately operated prison in the state — has been the center of controversies before. 8News has covered drug overdoses and other instances of inmate violence in recent years, as well as a 2021 investigation that found the prison to be routinely short-staffed.
