CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a significant legal decision, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger dismissed a lawsuit aimed at compelling West Virginia to allocate $330 million to enhance prison and jail conditions across the state and address worker vacancies. The ruling, issued on Tuesday in Beckley, sided with motions filed by Governor Jim Justice and state Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit, initiated in August 2023, was brought by inmates from the maximum-security Mount Olive Correctional Complex in Fayette County, the Southwestern Regional Jail in Logan County, and a juvenile from a detention facility in Boone County. The plaintiffs alleged that overcrowding issues were neglected and that regular funding for facility maintenance was insufficient.
Judge Berger determined that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue the lawsuit, noting the absence of a direct link between the actions of Justice and Sorsaia and the claims made in the lawsuit. She emphasized that Secretary Sorsaia’s budget authority is limited and requires legislative approval to address corrections staffing and facility maintenance.
Furthermore, Berger stated that she could not mandate the governor to use his discretionary powers to commute sentences or pardon inmates to alleviate overcrowding.
In a related development, Governor Justice ended a nearly two-year state of emergency in May concerning staffing in the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The state National Guard was deployed to mitigate worker attrition in jails and prisons. At its peak, the vacancy rate exceeded 30%, with over 730 National Guard members assisting in 17 correctional facilities during the emergency.
Gen. William E. Crane, the adjutant general of the state National Guard, reported that nearly 240 individuals have graduated from the state’s corrections academy since January, and 38 National Guard members have opted to remain permanently in their roles within the jails and prisons.
In an effort to address staffing issues, state lawmakers approved over $21 million for correctional officer pay raises and two one-time bonuses of $2,294 for non-correctional officer jail staff, such as kitchen workers, during a special session last summer.
This decision follows a separate class-action lawsuit settlement last year, where the state agreed to pay $4 million to inmates over conditions at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver.
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