Commission says state is responsible for jail conditions
Oct. 5—Despite footing the bill for Raleigh County offenders housed at Southern Regional Jail, Raleigh County commissioners say they should not be held liable for the alleged deplorable conditions at the jail that are now part of a federal civil action lawsuit.
When questioned by media following a regular commission meeting Tuesday morning, Raleigh County Commissioner Greg Duckworth said the state's regional jail system was designed to prevent the counties from being involved in lawsuits such as these.
"The regional jail idea came about in the early '90s to insulate counties from these kinds of lawsuits," Duckworth said. "Our position is, we pay a monthly jail bill and we feel we're insulated from the rest of that because it was an issue taken on by the Southern Regional Jail and the state."
The Raleigh County Commission along with its employees were named as defendants in a civil action filed Sept. 21 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Beckley Division.
The county commission and the employees of the county commissions in Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Summers and Wyoming were also named as defendants in the suit, all of which are served by Southern Regional Jail (SRJ), which is located in Raleigh County.
Listed as the representatives or plaintiffs for this civil action suit are Michael D. Rose and Edward L. Harmon, two inmates held at SRJ.
Citing testimonies of incarcerated inmates as well as current and former correctional officers at SRJ, the suit goes into detail regarding the condition of the jail, which is described as inhumane and unsafe.
According to court documents, overcrowding at the jail has forced some inmates to sleep on the floor of their cells without a mattress while others must sleep in common areas leaving them unprotected from other inmates.
The suit also claims that the jail's plumbing "is so inadequate and in such a state of disrepair as to constitute a serious threat to the physical and mental well-being of prisoners," adding that some inmates have gone without running water in their cells for months at a time.
The suit states that administrators at the jail are aware of the plumbing issues, citing an internal SRJ email from November 2021.
Despite these issues at SRJ which date back years, Duckworth said the responsibility for the treatment of inmates at SRJ as well as the condition of the facility lies with the state.
Three state employees — Betsy Jividen, the former commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Michael Francis, the former administrator/warden for SRJ; and Larry Warden, the former chief correctional officer at SRJ — have also been named in the suit, though all have either retired or stepped down from their positions before the suit was filed.
In July, the state Department of Homeland Security announced that Jividen would be stepping down effective Aug. 5.
The defendants' attorneys notified the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation on July 26 of their intention to file a federal lawsuit regarding the conditions at SRJ.
Conditions at the jail were investigated as recently as April by the state Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
As part of a report released by the DHS following its investigation, allegations that inmates were deprived of water, toilet paper and a mattress to sleep on were deemed false.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was asked about his thoughts on the SRJ lawsuit last week during an appearance in Princeton to discuss Amendment 2.
He responded by speaking about the SRJ investigation he ordered, which resulted in no findings.
However, he added that while he does have trust in his appointed secretaries, the investigation was conducted by a state agency that would have reason to not want to "find something bad within their own house."
He ended his brief comments on the lawsuit by saying, "If you just let this play out, the truth will come out because I am not just going to go along. That's all there is to it."
