WASHINGTON — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell would face limited visits and personal contact if he is sent to the federal prison he requested during his sentencing in January.
He would also be forced to wear khaki or green pants and shirts most of the time, according to an Inmate Orientation Handbook published by the Bureau of Prisons.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals initially stepped in this winter to allow McDonnell to remain free during his appeal, but ruled this week that he must now report to prison while he appeals his corruption convictions to the Supreme Court.
McDonnell requested that if he had to go to prison, he be housed at the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg located in Hopewell, Virginia, outside Richmond. According to a 2014 Justice Department audit of the prison conducted last year, the 28-acre, low-security area “looks like a college campus surrounded by two security fences.”
The decision is ultimately up to the Bureau of Prisons based on a number of factors, including space available. The bureau generally does consider requests approved by a judge and proximity to an inmate’s family members, among other factors, when deciding which prison will house an inmate.
The complex includes medium- and low-security prisons, which hold a total of about 1,100 men and a satellite camp that houses about 300.
The prison orientation handbook published last fall describes mandatory inmate counts by guards around midnight, 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. In some cases, inmates are required to stand up next to their beds to be counted. Any prison staff member is permitted to search an inmate or his living area for contraband or stolen property at any time. There also are random drug and alcohol tests with which prisoners must comply.
Jobs and Meals
Inmates, with some exceptions for those in drug treatment or job training programs, are required to have a job while in prison. Typically, inmates are initially assigned to jobs such as cleaning a unit, working in the mess hall or maintenance work.
The facilities jobs pay $0.12 to $0.40 per hour, or $5.25 per month. Inmates can get bonuses from supervisors of up to 50 percent, and Federal Bureau of Prisons policy authorizes an inmate who has worked full time for an entire year and gets a recommendation from a work supervisor to take a five-day paid vacation.
Meals are served by inmate workers. Prisoners are not allowed to bring in their own containers that could be used to take food out of the dining area. The only exception is that inmates can use their own bottle of mayonnaise, soy sauce or hot sauce.
Clothes and Recreational Activities
Weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., inmates in the medium- and low-security prisons are required to wear khaki pants and a tucked-in khaki shirt, while inmates in the prison camp wear green pants and a green shirt.
Only when it is hot can inmates wear a tucked-in white T-shirt in place of the button-ups provided by the prison. During work hours, sneakers are only allowed at lunch.
Inmates are allowed to move around the prison, including to or from the recreation areas, only during “controlled movements.” Usually, the movement periods extend from five minutes before the hour to five minutes after the hour.
The recreation facilities at the complex include a gym, outdoor weightlifting area, fields, walking track, and handball, racquetball, tennis and bocce courts. There are even organized intramural leagues for soccer, volleyball, softball, basketball and flag football.
In addition to sports, there are band and music programs, and hobby crafts such as painting and crochet. The completed projects are mailed home.
Housing
The housing area in the camp section has five floors of open cubicles with bunk beds, while inmates share communal showers.
The 2014 audit of the prison conducted by the Justice Department also confirmed that the facility met or exceeded the standards set in the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
The inmate orientation guide also includes tips for preventing sexual assault, including to “carry yourself in a confident manner at all times,” not accept gifts or favors since they may “come with strings attached,” and to “not give mixed messages to other inmates regarding your wishes for sexual activity.” Any sexual contact or proposal by prisoners is prohibited.
Commissary
Inmates are banned from giving any radios, watches, sneakers or items purchased from the commissary to any other inmates, and are tightly restricted on what they are allowed to have in prison, from the number of books and magazines (five each) to radios or MP3 players (one).
Prisoners are generally not allowed to have things other than legal papers, books, magazines or newspapers sent to them, and generally must purchase anything else from the commissary.
An FCC Petersburg Commissary Sales Sheet published in Spring 2013 includes things such as candy and nuts ($0.65 for All Stars to $2.80 for trail mix), chips and snacks ($0.55 for a cinnamon raisin bagel to $2.85 for granola or cocoa cream cakes) and condiments and drinks ($0.40 for cream cheese or bottled water to $8.45 for Taster’s Choice coffee).
At that time, the commissary also sold a variety of shaving cream, hair products and razors along with shampoo, basic medical creams and cough drops.
It also sells batteries, headphones, watches and the MP3 players inmates are allowed to have, which all count against the $320 monthly limit on what inmates can spend at the commissary.
Prisoners are not allowed to bring anything in from outside beyond a wedding band and a plain religious medallion.
The prison does have a Religious Services Department, which includes services for Roman Catholics, like McDonnell, alongside services or programs for 21 other religious communities. Prayer in groups is restricted to the chapel area.
Visitation Rights
McDonnell would be allowed up to 10 visits a month by people outside of the prison from up to four people at a time. But prisoners can only be visited by immediate family members and six other individuals they choose to add to an approved list.
The visits occur in a special visiting room, where “kissing, embracing and handshaking are allowed only on arrival and departure,” the orientation guide says.
Visitors are not allowed to wear shorts or skirts more than three inches above the knee, “tank tops or other wear that exposes the midriff or cleavage area,” “spandex-type clothing or other tight-fitting apparel,” or clothes that could be confused for an inmate’s.
An inmate is permitted up to 30 phone numbers on his phone account, which is allotted no more than 300 minutes per month.
McDonnell’s lawyers have asked Chief Justice John Roberts to step in in his role overseeing the circuit, but without intervention the Bureau of Prisons could direct McDonnell to report to a prison to begin his two-year sentence any time after late next week. A Fourth Circuit panel unanimously upheld his convictions for taking $170,000 in gifts and loans in exchange for the prestige of the governor’s office. The full Fourth Circuit declined to rehear the case.
His wife, Maureen McDonnell, remains free as she pursues her appeal separately. Arguments before a three-judge panel in Richmond are scheduled for Oct. 29.
