West Virginians are still held in jails where conditions can be brutal, nasty and deadly.
In just the past four years, 85 people have died in custody, more than a quarter of them at the Southern Regional Jail alone. Overcrowding has led to lawsuits that allege people are sleeping in puddles of water on concrete floors and peeing in showers due to lack of commodes. And in October, a federal judge blasted jail officials for intentionally destroying jail records that could have factored into a class action lawsuit.
After a rapid fire special session in August secured pay raises for correctional officers and money to fix basic things — like water lines and locks on cell doors — lawmakers still have a ways to go to address issues. Come January, they’ll have the opportunity to take another whack at the problem. Here’s what some experts and advocates say could help the system.
1. Commissioning a study to identify the problems
The first step towards solving any problem is clearly defining what it is, according to Danny Murphy, West Virginia director for the conservative think tank Right on Crime.
Murphy, a former federal prosecutor and military officer, said his group supports “evidenced-based solutions,” but those rely on lawmakers first undertaking a full study of the system.
He pointed to a study conducted by Michigan as a good model for West Virginia to follow. Through examining a decade of arrest data, Michigan lawmakers learned jail populations steadily rose, while crime rates fell in that state. Bench warrants were one of the main drivers.
The end result was a package of bipartisan bills that addressed alternatives to arrest, community supervision, bench warrants and how low level traffic infractions are handled.
Murphy said commissioning a study would be a good first step for the Legislature.
2. Treating substance abuse behind bars
Nationally, an estimated 65% of people in jails and prisons struggle with substance abuse. And increasingly, making sure people behind bars receive treatment for their addiction is seen as a way to help them return to being productive members of society.
A focus on treatment was one of the keys to turning the Boyd County Jail in Kentucky around. A few years ago, the jail was under federal investigation following a few years marked by escapes, a riot and the killing of a man in custody.
Today, those problems are well in the rearview mirror — the federal government even contracts with the jail to hold federal inmates. Part of that was Boyd County Jailer Bill Hensley tapping into state resources to institute multiple programs to assist inmates who suffer from drug addiction.
Joanna Vance, program coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Charleston, has long advocated for reform in corrections. She said emphasizing drug treatment behind bars — even if it’s just a short stay at the regional — goes a long way in reducing recidivism.
Lawmakers could put more funding towards evidence-based treatment behind bars, such as medication-assisted treatment and peer support specialists who have been through both addiction and the jail system.
related stories
3. Issuing ID cards to ease transitions
Those on the outside might not pay it too much mind, but a driver’s license isn’t just for getting behind the wheel or buying a pack of cigarettes.
It’s literally the backbone of being able to function in daily society — everything from jobs to housing to safety resources are contingent on producing a valid form of identification.
And for folks in and out of the jail system, Vance said a lack of ID is a huge barrier for the services they need to successfully reintegrate into society. It becomes a Kafkaesque journey — to get an ID, they need an address, to get an address, they need an ID.
To help people transition out of West Virginia’s jail system, reenter society and lessen the chances of reoffending, lawmakers could have state officials come to facilities to issue identification cards for those who need one, according to Sara Whitaker, criminal justice analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.
While a law passed in the August special session takes a step in that direction — it allows state prison IDs to be used to get an ID from the DMV — it doesn’t address the problem for people who have only been to jail and not prison.
4. Pumping up the funding
Attorney Stephen New, who is in the midst of settling a case against the Southern Regional Jail for deplorable conditions found in 2022, said the simplest — and most effective fix — is putting more money into the system. One recent example of money solving problems, he said, is that since lawmakers raised correctional officers’ salaries in August, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been able to hire more than 220 new officers.
But Elaine Harris, representative for the Communication Workers of America District 213 — which represents correctional officers in the state — warned that premium hikes to the state’s public employee health insurance will effectively zero out the raises next year.
With a 24% rise in PEIA premiums this year, accompanied by an extra charge if a married state employee’s spouse qualifies for health insurance through other employment, the rise in take home pay for new correctional officers has only worked out to about $150 extra a check. And PEIA is considering another hike next year.
Harris said one way lawmakers could keep the gains seen in correctional officer hiring is by addressing the rise in PEIA premiums through either subsidies to the system or additional raises for state employees.
5. Using citations to keep minor offenders out of jail
Finding ways to prevent jail from being the de facto option could greatly reduce the strain on the system, according to Deborah Ujevich, interim director of West Virginia Family of Convicted People.
According to the 2022 annual report of the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, four out of five of the top charges for admissions were non-violent — bench warrants, simple possession of drugs, obstruction and fugitive warrants. Ujevich said relying more on citations — essentially tickets — for misdemeanors like trespassing could help keep minor offenders out of jail in the first place.
So lawmakers could, like their counterparts in Michigan, amend state code to allow for summons to be issued to court like speeding tickets.
But Whitaker warned that could backfire, by leading police officers to overcharge people to make sure they go to jail. For instance, a case of simple possession of heroin could be turned into a “possession with intent to deliver” case in order to get somebody off the street, even if the charge doesn’t stick over the long run.
A way to avoid that is making it harder for folks to go to jail pretrial. Whitaker said one way to do that is by having a lawyer on hand when bond is set, which could help keep low-level offenders out.
6. Implementing bail reform in West Virginia
About four out of five people being held pretrial in West Virginia are charged with felonies, according to Whitaker, meaning any bail reform has to address felonies.
She pointed to a 2020 reform to the law which required all cases, including felonies, to have a mandatory bail review date three days after an initial appearance.
Whitaker said the law put a dent in the jail population, but lawmakers rolled it back the following year by clarifying the rule was only for select misdemeanors.
Reinstating the 2020 version of the law would be one step the Legislature could take to reduce the number of people going into jail, Whitaker said.
Another option would be to eliminate cash bonds entirely, replacing the system of bondsmen with expanded electronic monitoring and regular drug tests.
This idea is picking up steam in other jurisdictions across the country; in 2017, New Jersey got rid of bonds in most cases and in September, Illinois banned the practice outright. The Cook County Jail in Chicago — which holds roughly the same amount of people as the entire West Virginia regional jail system — saw a 12% drop in its jail population compared to the year prior within a month after the ban.