PORTSMUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Dowon Mitchell and his wife Portia Smith cherish their time behind bars at St. Blythe Correctional Center in Chesapeake.
In a 90-minute visit on Jan. 15, Mitchell and his wife of five years will discuss post-incarceration activities, including launching a YouTube channel or TikTok page to help teenagers become successful and stay away from crime. made plans for
After 90 minutes together, it’s time to say goodbye.
“At the end of our visit, he hugged me. I know it’s my husband. He kind of patted me,” said Smith at his home in Hanover. said in a Zoom interview.
The tap reportedly got her husband in trouble with a female security guard and wrote him off for contact, Smith said.
Smith, a former journalist, said, “‘This is like BS’ (he said).
Smith said three male guards appeared on the bottom bed the next afternoon while Mitchell was asleep. Smith said her husband had slept with a towel over her face to block the sun’s rays just before the assault.
“They walked up to him and slapped him in the face,” Smith said. “They searched his belongings for 40 minutes and found nothing.”
Smith told 10 On Your Side that he believed security had planted the evidence.
“Suddenly, a razor blade came out of nowhere and one of the corrections officers came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground,” Smith said. Really beat him. They still handcuffed him while beating him.
Smith told 10 On Your Side that her husband of 44 did not fight back.
“The prisoners told me he couldn’t fight back,” said Smith. “One officer twisted his left arm behind his back so that his fingertips touched his spine. Another officer put his knees on his back and his chest on the ground as they brought him to the ground. Eventually they handcuffed him.
Smith said her husband is a model prisoner and faces disciplinary action because he has two years left on his seven-year sentence.
Smith said her husband had three bumps on his forehead and his face was bleeding.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections will only say that the matter is being considered by the Special Investigation Unit.
