CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority met for a Sunday Interim session during which the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation was present to address ongoing issues in corrections facilities throughout the state.
Commissioner William K. Marshall pointed out that the State of Emergency for West Virginia jails declared in August 2022 by Governor Jim Justice would likely persist through August of this year, meaning the state of emergency status would extend past the one-year mark since its having been declared.
The prevalent concerns with regard to the state’s corrections system as it currently stands entail questionable conditions for both corrections staff – including what could be considered less than competitive compensation – as well as safety concerns for inmates housed in the facilities.
Though legislation was proposed during the recent session of the West Virginia Legislature to increase rates for corrections staff, the proposed changes ultimately never came to fruition. A sweeping $10,000 pay raise has since been proposed by the House Committee on Jails and Prisons, the leadership of which has noted the lack of sustainability for the jails situation as it stands currently.
LOOTPRESS reached out to Jails and Prisons Committee Minority Chair Delegate Joey Garcia, who addressed Sunday’s interim session with the commissioner, as well as the proposed pay raise.
“I think one of the things that was made clear at [Sunday’s] meeting is that not only is this the right thing to do from a moral standpoint in keeping faith with the correctional officers, staff members, and all of those who are helping out with making sure that we could have a safe prison, but also the fiscally responsible thing to do.”
The Committee Minority Chair addressed current expenses, which comprise a considerable amount of spending on National Guard support in lieu of available employees, as well as mandatory overtime which is regularly implemented just to keep facilities staffed.
“We’re spending $21 million on temporary employees from the National Guard,” he explains. “The other part that came up was overtime. There’s a lot of unwanted overtime, and that costs one and a half times what [employees’] hourly rates would cost normally. So at the end of the day, we’re being penny wise and pound foolish.”
Delegate Garcia would join Jails and Prisons Committee Chair Delegate Kelly in calling on Governor Justice to spearhead a path forward to implement raises to help combat the corrections staffing issue.
“The Corrections Commissioner is doing everything he can without any further money as far as trying to get beyond the impediment to people searching for a job. But they’re not getting the results they need, and that’s a function of the legislature not doing its job,” he says.
Delegate Elliott Pritt – who, prior to joining the Republican party on Monday, served as the Minority Vice Chair of the Jails and Prisons Committee – addressed a letter to Governor Justice last month imploring that the legislature be reconvened for a special session with specific regard to the ongoing jails and prison situation.
Speaking with LOOTPRESS, Delegate Pritt reiterated the necessity of addressing the situation as soon as possible
“There has to be action immediately on this,” he said, referring to multiple letters he had received from constituents employed within the corrections system citing concerns of preferential treatment as well as defective equipment and a dangerous degree of understaffing.
“They’re telling me that not only are there staffing issues and safety concerns, but it’s a hostile work environment where people are scared to speak up. In these letters, a lot of these individuals accuse higher ups of nepotism; of certain people being mandated to work extra shifts and others not because of who they know; certain people not being allowed to call in and take days off while other people are being mandated 2-3 days in a row,” he continued.
“The emergency buttons on their radios don’t work, magnetic locks aren’t working; They’re so understaffed they can’t search inmates for alcohol or drugs or paraphernalia, so a lot of the inmates are routinely drunk and high and there’s nothing they can do about it because there’s not enough people to monitor the situation, which makes it even more dangerous.”
Delegate Pritt also acknowledged the unacceptable conditions created for inmates within the state’s jails, noting that consequences enacted by the court system should not be compounded by deplorable living conditions within assigned facilities which have led to the deaths of many inmates in recent years.
“Yes, many of these people did commit crimes, but they did not commit crimes that were worthy of the death penalty. So, them dying really is a blot on the conscience of our state. I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus, I just want it fixed.
Because one of our state employees is going to get hurt; more inmates are going to die; one of our state employees is going to die; there’s going to be a prison riot; there’s going to be an employee walkout; Something is going to happen. It’s like Delegate Brooks says, ‘Every day that goes by that there’s not a major catastrophe or incident in our state prisons is a miracle right now.’”
LOOTPRESS inquired as to whether Delegate Pritt had heard back from the Governor since reaching out in March with regard to the conditions within state facilities.
“Nobody contacted me,” he said. “The Governor’s Office acknowledged receipt and said they were forwarding it to the appropriate people. But they never did anything beyond that. That’s the last I heard.”
Delegate Pritt’s letter to Governor Justice can be seen in the photo gallery of this article.
Legislative Interim sessions will continue through Tuesday afternoon, with four more committee meetings scheduled to occur throughout the day from the time of writing.