Criminal Justice

March 6, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
Senate Quietly Resurrects Bill that Would Prevent Judges from Releasing Defendants Charged with a Felony Without Bail

Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - Senators are trying to breathe new life into a bill that critics say would lead to more people sitting in jail awaiting trial after a House Committee overwhelmingly rejected the legislation last week.  Read the full article. SB 725 would’ve stripped magistrates — who generally see someone first after they…

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March 6, 2024 by WVCBP
People with Disabilities Over-represented in Justice System

Public News Service - Nationwide, people with disabilities are overrepresented both as victims of crime and those who are accused of crimes, and advocates believe the justice system could do much more to improve accessibility. Read the full article. The system is not always fair to people with autism, cognitive disabilities and learning disorders, and…

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January 18, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
WV Data: Deaths at Regional Jails Fell in 2023, Still Above Historical Totals

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Deaths at state-run jails in West Virginia declined in 2023 from the previous year but remained significantly higher than totals throughout the 2010s. Read the full article. In 2023, 16 incarcerated people died in West Virginia regional jails, according to data the Gazette-Mail obtained from the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation…

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January 18, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
Sara Whitaker: Stop Asking the Fox What Ails the Hen House (Opinion)

Charleston Gazette-Mail - Three days before Christmas, a 24-year-old man died at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County. He was one of at least 27 people who died at that one facility over the past three years. Read the full op-ed. This could be a moment for action — a chance to finally address…

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January 16, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
West Virginia Judges Must Do Their Part to Help Fix the Jail Overcrowding Crisis

At the start of the 2024 legislative session, there is a rare moment of consensus. People behind bars, their loved ones, the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), and lawmakers are all in agreement: West Virginia must address and reduce jail overcrowding. The good news is that lawmakers need not look far for a solution.…

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January 9, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
Lawmakers Must Prioritize Recovery, Not Punishment

Dominion-Post - As the 2024 legislative session opens today, there are certain words already on lawmakers’ lips: drugs, addiction, substance abuse, fentanyl. Read the full article. And one more: punishment. Over the last few years, as West Virginia has tried to wrangle an out-of-control drug crisis, lawmakers have talked a big game on prevention and…

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January 8, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
WV Prison Overcrowding “at least a decade in the making”

WDTV - A class-action lawsuit focuses on conditions in West Virginia prisons, namely an overcrowding issue that has been increasing since 2000. Read the full article. The lawsuit claims that between 2000 and 2009 West Virginia’s prison population more than doubled, the leading growth rate in the nation. And from 2018 to 2022 that got…

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January 7, 2024 by Sara Whitaker
Overcrowding Problem Persists in West Virginia Jails

West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia has long had a problem with overcrowding in its jails, and that problem hasn’t gone away. Read the full article. Overcrowding is a through-line in a class action lawsuit about conditions in the jails, a root with other problems branching out. The lawsuit underscores that between 2000 and 2009 West Virginia’s…

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