Red Onion Randy - Life in a Supermax Prison

Amidst all the violence and neglect he experienced as a child living in a trailer park, Randy still treasures the memory of small acts of kindness. 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 mus...

Following on from Episode 66, Randy takes us through the rest of the rules that make up his essential inmate survival guide. 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 Par...

A female listener who has an inmate boyfriend wonders about his motives. Can she trust him? Randy offers his advice. 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...

Randy launches his first children's story: Elise and the Magic Well. Available at   Amazon.com: Elise and the Magic Well eBook : Via, Randall: Kindle Store 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...

If you  want to survive in prison, you better know the rules: Randy's twenty-two prison rules. 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 an...

Randy reflects on how much his mother suffered, and how he  struggles to come to an understanding of the reasons why she neglected him. It hasn't been easy. It still isn't. 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 Pand...

Randy's father was violent, abusive and then largely absent. Recently, he's reconnected with his Dad, and reflects on his complex feelings towards the man who had such an impact on his life. 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 desi...

Guns and gun culture play a central role in American life. Randy reflects on his own relationship to guns and on how his views have changed over time. 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...

 Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, Randy shares his dreams of a new life in the free world. If you were Randy, what would you do after 23 years in prison? 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 Pan...

Mental health is a huge issue at Red Onion, as it is for many people in the free world. Randy reflects on how he’s grown up from a kid who was willing to commit suicide ‘by cop’ to someone who knows how to manage anger and support others struggling to find their own  peace of mind. Red Onion Randy features the life and times of Randall Via, who is currently serving 1,214 years in Red Onion State P...

In responding to a listener's question about the treatment meted out to child molesters and other sexual offenders by inmates, Randy expresses his  dilemma--he hates the crimes but he also hates bullying.  He also shares his personal experience as the childhood victim of sexual assault. Red Onion Randy features the life and times of Randall Via, who is currently serving 1,214 years in Red Onion St...

Randy finally gets to talk on the phone to appeals lawyer Jon Sheldon. Does he have grounds for an appeal? There's good and there's bad news, says the lawyer. 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 edit...

Marking the first anniversary of the launch of the podcast, Randy describes how it all started, how  episodes are made, and the impact it's had on his life.  A big shout out to all the many Red Onion fans around the world! 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 G...

Since Covid-19, people everywhere have become familiar with the experience of lockdowns, but a lockdown in Red Onion is an altogether different thing.  This week, Randy's just come out of a two-day lockdown after an inmate got drunk. That was a short one. Lockdowns can go on for weeks. You're confined to your cell 24/7.  For Randy, in his single cell, it's solitary confinement all over again. And...

After serving 23 years of a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, Randy believes he may have grounds to mount a successful appeal.  He needs a good lawyer, so he's going to contact Jonathan Sheldon, an attorney  who specializes in post-conviction remedies in Virginia: Randy's cautiously  optimistic, but will Jonathan Sheldon agree? Red Onion Randy features the life and times of Randa...

Life in the new pod turns out to be more positive than Randy anticipated, but it’s far from perfect. In reflecting on the everyday challenges he faces in prison, Randy offers a valuable guide to the good life, whether you’re in a supermax prison or in the free world: “I’m not going to wait for life to tell me when I can be happy”. Before he made the move to the new pod, Randy used to make the phon...

Recorded  just before Randy 's recent transfer to the new pod, he reflects on the pecking order in prison, the wolves who run the pod, the sheep who follow, and the guys like Randy who walk alone and stand alone. 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. We...

Randy’s been transferred to a general population unit at Red Onion. It’s a jungle full of threats and lurking dangers. There’s so much on the line, so much Randy could lose if he’s forced to fight. His friend Pitt, who lives on the pod, has put the word out: “He is a killer. Mess with Randy, and he’ll eat ya up.”  But will that be enough to help Randy avoid a confrontation with the gangbangers? Pr...

Randy is going to be transferred to another part of Red Onion with a lower security level.  But it's not all good news for our host. The new pod is a lion's den, full of violence and gang activity. Gangbangers often  force other inmates to pay for the use of the phone, which is  Randy's only means to make his podcasts. What's he going to do?  He sure isn't going to back down to bullies, but he doe...

Fear is an inescapable part of the human condition, and few places are more driven by fear than a supermax prison.  In this episode Randy examines what fear is, how it affects us, and the choice we have: face it or run from it. And what is Randy's innovative approach to this paralyzing emotion? "Slap it with positivity!" Red Onion Randy features the life and times of Randall Via, who is currently...

In prison, everyone needs to believe in something, whether it's religion, an idea, a dream, or a sense of self. Randy explains what religious faith means for him, taking us on his long journey from cynicism to belief. He sure gets strength from his faith -- and his sense of who he is.  As  Randy says, "I won't give up. I might fail but I will fail swinging." Red Onion Randy features the life and t...

Prisoners at Red Onion come up with some ingenious ways to  pass the time, including  gambling with some unusual stakes. Randy also introduces us to his all-time favorite game: Dungeons and Dragons. But Randy's version of D&D is not exactly the same as the one most people know!  You'll be impressed by the passion and creativity of D&D Red Onion-style. Red Onion Randy features the life and...

Abused and neglected at home, made to feel an outsider at school, Randy rejected the education system that appeared to reject him. Between truancy and juvenile detention Randy never got much of a formal education but he did manage to pass his GED (General Education Development), a set of academic tests equivalent to a high-school diploma. Randy always had a love of reading, and by the time he foun...

In this powerful episode Randy describes what it feels like to be sentenced at the age of 20 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It's been a long journey through numbness and depression to find  the hope he constantly fights to keep alive. Twenty-three years after he was sentenced, Randy still faces the  prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.   Red Onion Randy featur...

When he was an angry, abused adolescent, Randy discovered that crime was like a drug. Soon, he was  hooked on it, yearning for the intense high that he believed only crime could give him.  When crime led to him being sent to a juvenile  correctional center, his one desire was to get out and commit more crimes. Only later did he come to realize that like other addictions, crime can destroy the addi...