By Roger Adkins, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state of emergency in West Virginia’s prisons and jails could end by late April or early May, according to testimony Wednesday by the commissioner of the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Commissioner William Marshall provided an update Wednesday on the status of the state’s jail and prison system to the House Committee on Jails and Prisons. The corrections system has been in a state of emergency since 2022 due to a critical lack of personnel, which is represented by an emergency light on the state Capitol dome.
“Do we have any hope of getting the emergency light turned off at the Capitol?” Delegate Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, asked during the meeting.
Marshall responded, “That’s been one of my goals from day one, to have that light turned off. Because until that light’s turned off, I don’t feel like we’ve really gotten there quite yet.”
Jail staffing vacancies continue to shrink
To combat the personnel shortage, Gov. Jim Justice authorized the West Virginia Army National Guard to provide personnel to fill out the rosters.
In his report, Marshall said vacancies at state facilities continue to dwindle as the state division steps up its recruiting efforts, fueled by legislative increases last year in the starting pay for correctional officers.
Each month, the division processes out departing Guard members. One recruiting technique has been to inquire with each one about whether they would like to come work for the division full-time, Marshall said.
“If they’re on the fence, then we have a team there at the National Guard headquarters … to meet with them, talk about the benefits, the pay the packages, what they could look forward to if they come and want a career with us,” Marshall said.
