Virginia Warden Retires Amid Charges of Denying Prisoners Religious Services

AP reported yesterday that Barbara Wheeler, warden at Virginia's Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, is retiring amid allegations that she segregated masculine-looking lesbians, and that she placed excessive restrictions on inmates' access to religious services. State Sen. Frank Ruff says he is concerned about allegations that lists of inmates who may attend religious services were not adequately updated, that inmates were turned away from church services to punish them for infractions such as their hair being too long, and that all lay chaplain visits to the prison were stopped. Fluvanna is Virginia's largest women's prison, housing some 1,200 inmates.