Virginia Beach lawyer complains about not being allowed to visit inmate on Memorial Day

By Linda Cicoira

     Complaints about lawyers not being allowed to visit inmates at the Accomack Jail were voiced Tuesday in Northampton Circuit Court to Judge Lynwood W. Lewis Jr.

     “Many lawyers have been turned away when trying to visit their clients for one reason or another,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton said.

      “The jail here is run like a Hilton Hotel,” defense lawyer Robert Morecock, of Virginia Beach, said of the Eastern Shore Regional Jail in Eastville. “The jail in Accomack, I don’t have words for.” 

     Morecock said he was turned away Monday, which was Memorial Day, “with no reason just a “no.” The lawyer said before arriving he was told he would be able to see his client. “I was hot yesterday,” Morecock added. “I appreciate Mr. Thornton mentioning it.” He did not specify whom he spoke to.

     “That’s unfortunate,” Judge Lewis said.  Sheriff Todd Wessells, who operates the Accomack facility, was reached a short time later. He said the issue was not newsworthy and that lawyers could visit their clients Monday through Friday except on holidays and Sundays. On Saturdays, relatives can visit, Wessells said.

     Morecock was later heard telling a probation officer, that his client “is desperate to get transferred.”

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