Federal lawsuit seeks court oversight of Virginia prisons

(The Center Square) – A federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia is asking a judge to place the Virginia Department of Corrections under court oversight.

The lawsuit argues that prison officials failed to address known safety risks that preceded a deadly attack and continue to place correctional officers in danger.

It was filed on behalf of Dawn Hall, the widow of Master Corrections Officer Jeremy Lewis Hall, who was killed during a Nov. 17, 2025, attack at River North Correctional Center, and Anthony Kellam, a corrections officer named as a plaintiff who alleges unsafe staffing levels and management practices endangered both officers and inmates.

The plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages. Instead, they are asking a federal judge to order changes to staffing, training and threat-response policies and to place the department under court oversight to ensure those changes are implemented statewide.

According to the complaint, prison officials failed to act on intelligence...