After nearly two years, Gov. Jim Justice has rescinded the state of emergency over jail staffing shortages. It is a cause for celebration — and possibly one […]
Tag: department of corrections
Federal judge blasts W.Va. corrections officials for destroying, losing evidence
Judicial orders are often a dry read — technical and sprinkled with references to relevant court cases. Naturally, they are meaningful to the lawyers involved, but to […]
Correcting the pay for corrections officers
It has taken a while — one year to be exact — but the Justice administration and the Legislature have finally agreed on a comprehensive pay increase […]
Even inmates have rights under the First Amendment
Last week, Charleston-based U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin rightfully ruled in favor of an atheist inmate who said he had been subjected to faith-based programs in […]
A novel approach to the jail staffing crisis: Just ask
In all the discussion about solving West Virginia’s jail staffing crisis, has anyone bothered to ask the jails’ staff what they need? Gov. Jim Justice has repeatedly […]
Yes, we know corrections staffing is a crisis. Now fix it
State government’s attention to the shortage of jail and prison correction officers feels like a wash, rinse, repeat cycle. Legislators and state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation […]
If CARES money used appropriately, audit should turn up no problems
On Monday, State Senate Finance Chair Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Office of Inspector General asking it to potentially look into whether […]
Legislature escapes without fixing jail staffing crisis
The West Virginia Legislature adopted a resolution during the final week of the session extending the State of Emergency in the state’s correctional institutions. Gov. Jim Justice […]
ACLU-WV: ‘Secret laws’ in prisons must be made public
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV) filed legal action Friday in Kanawha County Circuit Court in an effort to compel the state Department of […]
Bad budget now means funding failure later
During his State of the State address, Gov. Jim Justice presented the Legislature with an essentially flat budget — again. There is a slight increase of about […]
