DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS DENIES INFORMATION REQUESTS

To a large degree, the data underlying The Virginian-Pilot's reporting
project on Virginia prisons were gleaned from sources other than the state
Department of Corrections, the principal focus of the project.

The department provided published data and answered a few narrowly focused
questions, but denied the newspaper broad access to its records, citing a
state law that exempts it from the disclosure requirements imposed on most
other state agencies.

Last spring, The Pilot asked the department for a copy of its inmate
database -- a detailed snapshot of the inmate population at a given point
in time. It would have included inmates' names, gender, race, offenses and
sentences -- all information that had been public at earlier stages in the
criminal justice process.

Over several months of negotiation, the newspaper agreed to pay the
department's estimated cost of providing the information, about $2,200. It
was understood that certain information, such as Social Security numbers
and medical records, would be excluded in accordance with state and federal
privacy laws.

But in the end, the entire request was denied.

In a Dec. 13 letter, Corrections Director Ron Angelone based the denial in
part on a section of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act that allows
him, at his discretion, to withhold ``all records of persons imprisoned in
penal institutions in the Commonwealth provided such records relate to the
imprisonment.''

He gave no reason for invoking the law.

Forrest M. Landon, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open
Government, a group that lobbies for freer public access to government
proceedings and records, called Angelone's response unwarranted.

``It's clearly unfortunate that the Department of Corrections has withheld
information that previously had been public when prisoners were in the
Virginia court system and is not information that in any way invades a
prisoner's limited zone of privacy,'' Landon said. ``The department should
not seize on the discretionary authority to keep something private when
it's not a threat to public safety.''

Charles N. Davis, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of
Missouri who has studied access policies in prison systems around the
country, said Angelone's response mirrors a national trend toward more and
more secrecy.

``As of late, the trend is toward less everything -- less interviews, less
cameras, fewer reporters, fewer visitors,'' Davis said. ``It's the whole
theme of prison life these days.''

Angelone also denied The Pilot's request for information about the weaponry
issued to guards at the state's ``supermax'' prisons, citing another
provision of the Freedom of Information Act that exempts records from
disclosure if it would jeopardize prisons' ``security or employee safety.''

When The Pilot asked in mid-December for a comprehensive interview with
Angelone to discuss issues raised during the project, his spokesman said he
would have to see a written list of questions first. The Pilot provided the
list, but the interview was never granted.

Below is the index for this series of articles:

US VA: Virginia Is Paying The Price For Prison Boom
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n326/a09.html

US VA: Overbuilt Prisons Must Import Criminals
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a01.html

US VA: Virginia's Incarceration Rate Far Exceeds Crime Rate
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a02.html

US VA: Department Of Corrections Denies Information Requests
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a03.html

US VA: Drugs, Not Violence, Are The Fuel For Prison Growth
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a04.html

US VA: Expert And Inmates Find Faults In Prison Drug-Treatment
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n331/a13.html

US VA: Poll Shows Little Support For Gilmore's Get-Tough Drug
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a05.html

US VA: Blacks Imprisoned At Rate Out Of Proportion To Drug Use
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n327/a06.html

US VA: Cost Of Housing Older Inmates Goes Up As Risk Goes Down
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n328/a01.html

US VA: New Prisons Bring Much-Needed Jobs To Rural Areas
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n328/a02.html

US VA: Party And Racial Lines Divide Lawmakers On Prison Reform
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n332/a01.html