February 5, 2021
Heathsville Jail Ordered to Close
Seven of Virginia’s 163 jails and lockups have been ordered closed because they fail to meet minimum State requirements, Colonel Richard W. Copeland, director of the State Department of Welfare and Institutions, announced this week.
The jail at Heathsville, in Northumberland County, was closed because the building is inadequate and there is no full-time qualified jailer, according to Major Rice M. Youell, director of the state division of corrections.
The Healthsville jail contains no facilities for segregating female prisoners, Major Youell said. The there are prisoners, they are transferred to the Lancaster County Jail, described by Major Youell as “very little better.”