Authorities: Mercer County man commits suicide in SRJ

May 5—A 30-year-old man from Mercer County was found dead in his cell Friday morning at Southern Regional Jail after committing suicide, according to authorities.

Local defense attorney and Beckley Common Council member Robert Dunlap said the news comes as no surprise given the statewide staffing shortages at state correctional facilities as well as the inhumane conditions at Southern Regional Jail (SRJ).

"It's another sad day in southern West Virginia, where we miss the aims of what the jails are supposed to do," he said. "We're supposed to rehabilitate ... we're supposed to protect the public, but we're sending people to a place where we can't ensure that they come out alive and that hasn't improved."

According to authorities with the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the man, whose name was not disclosed, "was found in his cell by staff performing routine checks."

In a statement released to the media Friday morning by Andy Malinoski, the director of marketing and communications for the West Virginia Department of Commerce, the Mercer County man died as a result of "an apparent self-inflicted injury."

The Register-Herald reached out to the Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and was told by an employee that they had not received word from the state about the death of an inmate from Mercer County at SRJ.

An employee in the office also told The Register-Herald that it's not abnormal for the state to not reach out when a death occurs and could depend on whether the inmate had charges that were active or pending.

Dunlap said he heard about the suicide Friday morning while visiting a client at SRJ.

Dunlap said his client knew the inmate who killed himself and was visibly distraught after seeing correctional officers go into the Mercer County man's cell to find his dead body.

"The gentleman I spoke with today wept for a solid 15 minutes of our meeting," Dunlap said. "He was in jail, and the crime related to witnessing a death, and he was so incredibly distraught that someone that he had become familiar with, and would see on a daily basis, he found dead at 5 a.m."

In citing claims from his client, Dunlap said the Mercer County man had stopped eating and talked about harming himself in the weeks leading up to his death. He added that other inmates initially talked the man out of harming himself, but it did not appear as if additional preventative measures were taken by jail personnel.

"It's disturbing," Dunlap said. "We're so tired of hearing of folks being hurt and hurting themselves."

Dunlap said his client was clearly in need of mental health services as a result of this trauma but statewide staffing shortage at the state's corrections facilities would likely interfere with getting him the care he needed.

"What we know is that there are very few counselors and from other media outlets, they've covered that counselors had been required to serve the functions of (correctional officers) recently because they were so short staffed," Dunlap said. "... there's not an adequate addressing of these individuals' mental health needs. And then if there's another suicide, I don't know how we're supposed to act like we're surprised."

In October, Elaine Harris, a representative with the Communications Workers of America for District 2-13, told The Register Herald that, as a result of staffing shortage at correctional facilities, Harris said regional jail employees who are working as support staff but have completed training through the corrections academy are being reassigned to security posts.

She said these support staffers being reassigned range from counselors and case managers to office assistants and laundry workers.

Harris said this practice has been in place for some time but was not being used as frequently as it is now.

Correctional staffing shortage has been well documented statewide for some time. Last August, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency for the state's correctional system because of all the vacancies.

A recent article by MetroNews stated that there are more than 1,000 correctional staffing vacancies. That's a 27 percent vacancy rate for corrections workers across the jails system, the article states.

When asked about mental health services for inmates, Malinoski released the following statement, "As a standard practice, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation offers counseling for all parties involved in situations like these."

This is the second death to have been reported at SRJ this year. The deaths were only made public after inquiries for multiple news organizations, including The Register-Herald.

In a statement Friday, Malinoski said, "The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is committed to the safety, quality of life, and well being of those in the care of the legal system in our state. We empathize with the friends and families of those that have experienced the loss of a loved one that was placed in our care.

"No additional information is available at this time as this incident is under investigation by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Criminal Investigation Division."

In March, Malinoski told The Register-Herald that there had been six deaths in state-run jails this year, but he did not specify where those deaths occurred.

Thirteen people died at SRJ in 2022.

SRJ is also the subject of a federal class action lawsuit that alleges inmates are mistreated, often denied medical treatment and live in deplorable conditions.

Dunlap, whose firm is representing about 500 people in the class action lawsuit, said the case is in the discovery phase.

"We're past the stage of simply dismissing because we haven't stated the claim for which relief can be granted; we're past all of that," he said. "There's way too much smoke for these folks to pretend there's no fire."

Dunlap is one of five attorneys representing more than 1,000 clients in this class action lawsuit.

The remaining attorneys on this case are Russell A. Williams, Stephen New, Timothy Lupardus and Zachary Whitten.

The lawsuit was initially filed in September in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Beckley Division.

Since its filing, Dunlap said dozens of individuals have come forward to be added to the lawsuit

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com