Rappahannock Regional Jail Accountability
Uncage RRJ is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization working to transform the Rappahannock Regional Jail into the Rappahannock Regional Restoration Center (3RC).
The Problem
Lawsuits document denied medications, ignored pleas for help, and preventable deaths. The FY27 budget sets aside $4.7 million for inmate medical care. The money is budgeted — the question is whether the care ever reaches the caged.
People in documented psychiatric crisis held in isolation without medication. The jail's own budget shows officers assigned to hospital watch climbing year after year — RRJ has become our region's de facto mental health facility, without any mandate to heal.
Half the Jail Authority Board holds elected office — but nobody on it was elected to run a jail. Oversight is a side duty spread across four jurisdictions, and when it's everyone's side job, it's no one's responsibility. Public comment is the only door in, and meetings still get cancelled.
The state board reviewed 167 jail deaths across Virginia from 2022 to 2024 — nine of them at RRJ — but refuses to release investigation details to the public. Families get conclusions, not answers.
RRJ's FY27 budget request is $57.9 million — a $4.7 million (8.9%) increase in a single year, paid by taxpayers in Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George, and Fredericksburg. The bill keeps rising. The outcomes go unmeasured.
RRJ booked 9,782 people in FY25 alone, yet says its systems cannot produce a recidivism rate. A system that will not measure whether it works is telling you it doesn't want to be judged by results.
The jail logged 270 use-of-force incidents in FY25. Its own FY27 budget projects 330 a year going forward. When an institution plans on more force, not less, that isn't an accident — it's the operating model.
Officers assigned to hospital duty each day: 5.48 in FY24, projected to hit 7.40 by FY27 — a 35% climb in the jail's own budget. The people inside RRJ are getting sicker, and a cell was never the place to heal them.
Documented Cases
Nine people died in RRJ custody between 2022 and 2024 — one of the highest totals of any jail in the Commonwealth, according to the state Board of Local and Regional Jails. Behind every number is a name. These are some of them.
Jemika Johnson, who had documented schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, went into labor at 2 AM while alone in an isolation cell.
Despite having an intercom and screaming throughout the night, she received no medical assistance.
Five hours later, a guard found her and her newborn in a pool of blood. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.
An autopsy found the infant had conditions that could have been treated with simple antibiotics.
Georgetown Law's Civil Rights Clinic filed suit in December 2023. The jail denies all allegations.
44-year-old Christopher Innocenti was discovered in distress around 2 AM. The Stafford County Sheriff's Office investigated the death. Details remain limited due to lack of transparency.
Following the suicide of an inmate, family members and community advocates protested outside the jail, sharing stories of improper medical care, mental health neglect, inadequate nutrition, and chronic short-staffing.
Brenda Cochran died less than 24 hours after arriving at RRJ on drug charges her family claims were mistaken identity. Family alleges staff ignored pleas for her prescribed medications. Officials claimed it was a sudden heart attack from pre-existing conditions.
23-year-old Damon Kissam's death was one of three at the jail in a 44-day period. According to the lawsuit, Kissam yelled about hallucinations while other inmates called for help on his behalf. Officers told him to be quiet. He died of acute seizures from alcohol withdrawal - a treatable condition.
Reginald Latson, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disability as a child, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against RRJ officials after his time at the facility. A federal judge allowed his abuse claims to proceed.
Our Demands
Convert the Rappahannock Regional Jail into the Rappahannock Regional Restoration Center (3RC) — a facility measured by healing, not headcount. Restoration means Spiritual, Civil, Economic, and whole-body Wellness for the people inside and the communities they come home to.
Push evidence-based policy in Virginia's local and regional jail systems — and use the tools already on the books. Pretrial services, specialty dockets, and diversion programs are authorized under Virginia law today. Our localities do not need Richmond's permission to choose restoration.
Show the public what the jail actually costs and what it actually does. The FY27 request is $57.9 million — up 8.9% in a single year. Every budget, audit, and death review we obtain, we publish. Transparency saves lives.
Full public disclosure of every death investigation — no more buried findings. Publish grievance outcomes. Report the recidivism rate. Show up to Jail Authority Board meetings and put the questions on the record.
Activate the Community Criminal Justice Board our jurisdictions are already required by law to seat. Challenge incarceration as the default answer, and fund the community-based alternatives that keep families whole.
Secure & Anonymous
We understand the fear of retaliation. By default, all reports are completely anonymous. No name, no email, no way to trace back to you. Your story is what matters.
If you choose to share contact information, it will only be used by civil rights attorneys and advocacy organizations who may be able to help your case directly.