West Virginia Governor releases jail investigation results

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WTRF) — Consistent with his dedication to transparency, Gov. Jim Justice immediately launched the total outcomes of an investigation into residing situations at Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, WV.

Gov. Justice directed the West Virginia Division of Homeland Safety (DHS), which oversees the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), to instantly conduct the investigation after a neighborhood media outlet printed allegations by inmates, relations of inmates, and two former jail workers, claiming that inmates at Southern Regional Jail had been being denied water and in any other case being handled inhumanely.

The investigation consisted of interviewing over 50 people together with the previous jail workers included within the media report in addition to reviewing phone calls from inmates, and reviewing monetary data of Southern Regional Jail.

The investigation concluded that allegations of water deprivation, failure to offer rest room paper, and inmates having to sleep on onerous flooring with out a mattress are false.

“These had been extremely critical allegations, so I instructed our folks at DHS to resolve it as rapidly as doable,” Governor Justice stated. “Our investigators talked with a bunch of individuals and pulled a bunch of data and, on the finish of the day, they decided that the allegations had been merely not true.”

The investigation decided that inmates have entry to water 24/7 through sinks of their cells and an industrial water fountain in every POD. SRJ gives tumblers for each inmate to make use of for water consumption, buying 4,800 since July 2021.

The jail additionally maintains a minimal three-day provide of bottled water for emergencies. Along with water entry, inmates obtain three drinks per day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Information present no historical past of inmates submitting grievances for being disadvantaged of water and no historical past of medical instances of dehydration.

“Sadly, our interviews and evaluate of telephone calls and different data point out that these allegations look like a misguided try by some inmates and their household and mates to make use of the information media to unfold false and deceptive data as a method of getting launched,” stated DHS Secretary Jeff Sandy, who headed up the investigation. “Inmates yelled at household and mates for not telling the story the best way the inmate wished the media to listen to it. After listening to what a member of the family informed the media, one inmate stated, ‘Now I’ll by no means get out of right here.’

“As for the 2 former SRJ workers who superior the allegations in media studies, one admitted that they by no means personally witnessed any inmates being denied sufficient entry to water and famous that substantial parts of their media interview had been ignored of the ultimate story,” Secretary Sandy continued. “The opposite former worker left the jail beneath well-documented employment points and was so bitter that they refused to confess that inmates acquired drinks on a regular basis with their breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

The investigation additionally decided that ample rest room paper is supplied to inmates and that SRJ purchases new mattresses for inmates frequently.

Moreover, the jail has a Wellness Examine program, the place Correctional Officers interact in dialog with every inmate to evaluate their psychological state and to make sure all of their private wants are being met.

“The unhappy a part of this investigation is that relations are repeatedly lied to by inmates about their entry to clothes, meals, water, mattresses, medical consideration, residing situations, even footwear,” Secretary Sandy stated. “One mom that we interviewed was informed by her personal little one, an inmate, that their footwear had been stolen and weren’t given substitute footwear to put on, so she deposited cash into their account for footwear that had been by no means bought.”

“I thank everybody inside DHS and DCR who carried out this thorough investigation swiftly and professionally,” Gov. Justice added. “I proceed to have full confidence in Secretary Sandy, in addition to DCR Commissioner Betsy Jividen and all the management at SRJ that they are going to meet the problem of upholding the excessive requirements that we anticipate in our Corrections system.”