Mike Berryman vividly recalls freezing nights in his prison cell, where the cold was so intense he could sometimes see his breath. On humid nights, he said, ice would form on the walls. By summer, the opposite was true — his cell became stifling, leaving him drenched in sweat. “I’ve never been so close to […]
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Del. Holly Seiblold, D-Fairfax, speaks at a rally outside Virginia’s Capitol on Jan. 8, 2025 in protest of allegations of mistreatment of inmates and prolonged use of solitary confinement at Red Onion and Wallens Ridge state prisons. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
Mike Berryman vividly recalls freezing nights in his prison cell, where the cold was so intense he could sometimes see his breath. On humid nights, he said, ice would form on the walls. By summer, the opposite was true — his cell became stifling, leaving him drenched in sweat.
“I’ve never been so close to madness in my life, because there’s nothing you could do to shake the heat,” Berryman said in an interview.