Five Virginia death row inmates have filed a lawsuit challenging their solitary confinement.
The plaintiffs are seeking the same expanded privileges won by another death row inmate who successfully challenged his solitary confinement on due process grounds. The new complaint says inmate Alfredo Prieto is now allowed to exercise in the prison gymnasium and have contact visits with members of his immediate family, and other death row inmates are entitled to the same treatment.
The state has appealed the ruling in Prieto's case. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard oral arguments last month.
Michael Kelley, a spokesman for Attorney General Mark Herring, said that after officials receive the lawsuit they will review it with their clients and respond appropriately.
