Author: Roradmin

What kinds of jobs are open for inmates in Red Onion? What’s the rate of pay? And what’s the absolute worst job in prison?  Find out the answers from Red Onion Randy,  the man who’s worked them all.  

Randy tells a story of a showdown between Headbuster, a 6’2″ gangbanger, and the rookie CO serving dinner trays on the tier. The ensuing standoff is resolved in the most unusual way. As Randy says, it’s one of the funniest he’s ever seen in prison. The episode features the hip hop music of Dutch Nelsar. 

Twenty-two years into his sentence of life without the possibility of parole, Randy feels the walls of his cell closing in around him, his resilience at breaking point, his sense of hope fading. In this powerful confession of mental torment, Randy’s spirit finally shines through — he cannot give up, he will not — but he sure comes close as he faces  a situation that is truly … a damn nightmare.  

Randy describes the many difficulties that Red Onion inmates face in getting a good night’s sleep. A mix of noise, excessive light, physical discomfort and anxiety all conspire to make a night at ROSP an uncomfortable and lonely time.  At the end of the episode Randy introduces a haunting melody composed by pianist Jooyeon Park — the Red Onion Lullaby.

Red Onion Randy features the life and times of Randall Via, who is currently serving 1,214 years in Red Onion State Prison for capital murder. Directed and produced by Michael Garbutt. Website and podcast design by Nishant Pandav. Sound editing and music by Julia Jooyeon Park. Title music by Joni Park and Julia Jooyeon Park. 

Randy describes the mind-numbing boredom of life in solitary and how this once led him to a corrosive, all-consuming anger with fantasies of homicidal vengeance…  Randy saved himself through the power of imagination and the refuge of fantasy fiction. The episode begins with a short description of Kapoor, the fantasy planet the size of 36 Jupiters filled with excitement and colour, invented by  Randy as his personal antidote to boredom and loneliness.

In response to listeners’ requests, Randy describes his cell and goes on to detail a  typical day in his life, most of which is spent in a cell that’s smaller than an average car parking space.

In 2006,  Randy was sent to Sussex 1  State Prison outside Richmond Virginia, where the state holds its death row prisoners.  Deeply unhappy in his new home, Randy slashed the throat of another inmate — a child molester — as a result of which he was sent to Red Onion and solitary confinement.  The episode contains descriptions of extreme violence. Listener discretion is advised.

Randy talks about his work “slinging ink” — the art of tattooing — a practice that can form strong and enduring bonds between inmates. 

Randy describes Red Onion’s SAM (Secure Allied Management)– and SIP (Secure Integrated Pod), two high security accommodation programs that prepare prisoners for gradual integration into general population.

In the first of this two-part story of his journey from solitary back to Red Onion’s general population, Randy describes the painful process of looking at himself in the mirror, and acknowledging his anger, violence, and disregard for life. Over a number of years, he was able to commit to and achieve change in himself, a challenge that was supported by the prison’s “step down” program and his appearance in the 2016 HBO documentary “Solitary: Inside Red Onion”.