BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – The family of a Lawrenceville Correctional Center inmate is calling for change after their loved one was allegedly stabbed while in the facility.
The sister of an inmate at Lawrenceville Correctional Center, who wished to remain anonymous reached out to 8News after she said her brother was stabbed in the head, leaving him with serious injuries.
“He’s wearing a patch over his eye because he cannot see. It’s swollen about the size of a golf ball right now. He cannot see out of that eye,” the inmate’s sister said.
The prison is the only privately-owned facility in the state. A spokesperson from the GEO group confirmed the incident on Oct. 8, telling 8News in part:
“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 has been investigated by the Virginia Department of Corrections and we have no further comment.”
Family members said they were disheartened to hear that their loved one was allegedly injured while behind bars.
“They’re in there because they did something wrong. Correct. Okay. They’re doing their time. Okay. All we want. We’re not asking for special privileges here. We just want them to come home safe. We’re not asking for much,” one family member said.
8News has received multiple reports of illegal drug use and contraband at the facility along with several instances of inmate violence. 8News asked a GEO Group spokesperson what the department is doing to prevent incidents like this from happening and where the investigation stands, they declined to comment further.
The inmate’s sister added how unbelievable the situation felt.
The sister said, “I’m in awe. I mean, you see stuff like this in movies, and you don’t. You just never would think it would happen to a family member of yours.”
