U.S. Probes Fiery Uprising at Reformatory in Virginia

The Justice Department began an investigation Friday into the fiery uprising at the Lorton, Va., Reformatory, while federal prisons and neighboring states scrambled to make room for convicts displaced by the flames.

With the District of Columbia unable to house all of the prisoners because of federal restraints on inmate population at its other jail sites, the Justice Department said it would take 300 of the inmates into federal prisons. An additional 211 were sent to state facilities in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

That left the city scrambling for space for some 300 inmates still without beds because of the fires that swept through the sprawling prison early Thursday.

Inquiry by Task Force

Two U.S. attorneys, from the nation’s capital and the adjoining eastern district of Virginia where Lorton is situated, said they would form a task force to investigate the uprising and vowed to “wrest control” of the institution from inmates who remain there.

The federal officials, Henry Hudson of Virginia and Joseph diGenova of the District of Columbia, said at a news conference that district officials would not be included on the task force and might be the object of part of the investigation.

“Yesterday’s incident, we believe, is only one manifestation of what has been a continuing problem of disorder at the institution,” Hudson said. “It’s time to wrest control from prisoners at Lorton and place it back in the hands of law enforcement officials.”

Construction of Prison

DiGenova said District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry had delayed progress on construction of a new prison until after the September city primary in which he is running for a third term.

At a news conference Friday, Barry said the uprising occurred because “rebellious, smart” inmates found a way to outwit authorities, not because corrections officers were not in charge.

Prisoners set fire Thursday to 13 buildings, destroying four dormitories, and started a series of fights that left more than 40 people injured, including one prisoner critically wounded by birdshot fired by guards.