A measure for more oversight of West Virginia’s deadly prisons and jails might still leave the public in the dark. While lawmakers moved a bill Thursday for an independent oversight office, it does little to let citizens know what’s going on behind the walls.
HB 5358 would create an ombudsman position to oversee and follow up on inmate grievances and allegations of abuse, as well as review policy and procedures within the penal system. The ombudsman would report to the Office of Inspector General within the state Department of Homeland Security.
However, while the bill allows the ombudsman to investigate such matters, all records will be exempt from public records requests. The ombudsman would not be allowed to release any information regarding their investigations, with the exception of statistical data and reports “exclusive of any material that identifies any inmate, resident or complainant.”
The bill has bipartisan support — in committee on Thursday morning, only Del. Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson, voted no after stating he thought the idea was good but the government shouldn’t be creating more positions and spending more money.
Bill sponsor Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, said the position would “give another set of eyes” on the system, which has been under fire due to allegations of abuse and poor conditions at the Southern Regional Jail.
However, when asked if the bill provided any opportunity for regular reports to the public, Kelly said he wasn’t sure.
Kenny Matthews used to be incarcerated; now he advocates for people in West Virginia’s jails and prisons. He said any oversight has to have transparency.
“If you’re going to have a report that names specifics, that says ‘this is really how the system is,’ then the public should be aware of that,” he said. “It’s tax dollars that go to fund a lot of this stuff. There’s peoples’ family members who are incarcerated in these different facilities.”
Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, a co-sponsor of the bill, said he understands concerns surrounding transparency, but there is a balance that needs to be struck between the public’s right to know and the privacy of inmates. He said there are other ways to get more information into the public sphere.
“I’m working behind the scenes right now with the commissioner to get all the [Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation] policies, with exception to the safety sensitive procedures, published online,” he said. “And it doesn’t really even take legislation to make things more transparent as far as how they do things.”
The bill will next be considered by the full House.