Editor, Times-Dispatch:

I appreciated the recent news story and video footage of a 2018 incident at Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Buchanan County, which showed a supervisor’s hands on a restrained inmate’s neck. Thanks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s coverage of the incident, the once-closed investigation of the supervisor has been referred to a local prosecutor for review, as choking an inmate in five-point restraints is a violation of Department of Corrections policy.

I hope this reporting and investigation also encourages the General Assembly to move forward on the proposed legislation from Dels. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, and Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, which calls for the establishment of an Office of the Department of Corrections and corresponding ombudsman, as well as a Corrections Oversight Committee. Oversight of practices sanctioned by the DOC is obviously needed.Tax dollars supporting the operations of the DOC should be spent wisely, primarily focusing on advancing the aim of the prison system in Virginia: the rehabilitation of the incarcerated and their successful re-entry into society.

Robert Stewart. Chantilly.