Federal suit to be filed against regional jail for deplorable conditions
Aug. 9—A group of attorneys in southern West Virginia are preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the state department of corrections, claiming deplorable conditions and inhumane treatment of inmates at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County.
Attorney Steven New said the claims are a result of dozens of conversations with more than 100 individuals including current and past inmates and correctional officers who say inmates are living in unsafe condition with cell doors that don't lock.
New said there have also been claims that inmates have been denied food, water and medical treatment as punishment.
"We have reports of inmates drinking from toilets because there's no other operable water in those pods," New said.
He added that they've also had reports of a gang operating in the female section of the Southern Regional Jail "with the knowledge of and almost at the direction of the correctional officers as a way to punish certain inmates they didn't like."
As a result, New said he and attorneys Russel Williams, Robert Dunlap, Timothy Lupardus and Zach Witten sent a 30-day notice to the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation on July 26 of their intention to file a federal lawsuit regarding the conditions at the Southern Regional Jail.
New said the Southern Regional Jail is not the only regional jail in the state where inmates are being treated poorly, but he believes treatment received by inmates at the Southern Regional Jail is by far the worst.
"It's just a lack of leadership," he said
A web page for the state's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists Bobby Berry as the facility's superintendent, but New said he is not sure who is in charge at the Southern Regional Jail as the previous warden retired "two days after we sent our notice that we were suing."
New said he and the other attorneys have been investigating the conditions at the Southern Regional Jail for months and are currently representing roughly 165 people for this case, though he is expecting that number to grow.
"We were getting a lot of calls, both from inmates and correctional officers, indicating that conditions were deplorable out there, that some of the (corrections officers) were trying to sound the alarms about just how bad the conditions were," he said.
New said their investigation "really kicked up this summer" following the death of Quantez Burks who died while incarcerated at Southern Regional Jail on March 1.
Burks' death is under investigation by the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security but no details as to the progress or scope of that investigation have been released.
A statement released by the WVDHS on March 1 described Burks as "combative" with staff prior to his death. According to preliminary results from Burks' autopsy released by the family's attorney, Burks died of a heart attack after experiencing blunt force trauma.
Dunlap, who is also a member of the Beckley Common Council, said he has been trying to sound the horn on the inhumane conditions at the Southern Regional Jail for years. He said conditions there are so bad he would not see fit to kennel a dog there let alone have a human live or work there.
In 2019, Dunlap fought for months to have his client, Eddie Williams who had Stage Four melanoma cancer, released from the Southern Regional Jail on home confinement after not receiving adequate care for his cancer at the jail.
Dunlap said he could visibly see the cancer growing on the back of Williams' neck with every visit and was a clear sign of what neglect can do to a person.
Williams, who had been indicted in May 2018 on charges related to copper wire theft from an Alpha Resources mine, was eventually granted strict home confinement in early October of 2019 and died roughly two months later of the cancer.
Conditions at the Southern Regional Jail were investigated earlier in the year by the state following several news reports that inmates were deprived of water, toilet paper and a mattress to sleep on.
A state investigation ordered by Gov. Jim Justice produced a report at the end of April that concluded the allegations were false.
New said he has emails, pictures and videos that prove otherwise.
"If it were only the inmates, then the Division of Corrections would try to spin it, would try to say that the inmates aren't to be believed, that the conditions aren't as bad as what the inmates are saying," he said. "But when correctional officers, who are state employees, sworn to uphold the state and federal constitutions, speak out and corroborate what the inmates have said, then the conditions are what we say they are."
The Register-Herald reached out to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security on Monday for comment regarding the lawsuit. Morgan Switzer, deputy general counsel for the WVDHS, said she was unable to comment on pending litigation.
Built in 1994, the Southern Reginal Jail serves seven counties — Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming counties, according to the state's division of corrections website.
