As Jails Overflow, WV Lawmakers Examine Reform Measures

By Diane Bernard, Public News Service - WV

February 5, 2021

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Research shows West Virginia is the only state to increase its jail population in 2020. In an online panel, state lawmakers shared ideas for criminal-justice reform measures in the Legislature to tackle the overcrowding.

Pointing out the Mountain State has no statewide reentry program for parolees, Del. Mike Pushkin - D-Charleston - said he's working on a potential bill to create one based on a federal model.

He noted a highlight of the program would be a halfway-house system that is less costly than incarceration and essential to relieving overcrowded jails.

"A lot of people don't make parole because they don't have that home plan," said Pushkin. "They've been away for so long, they don't know where they're going to go. Instead of just, you know, bringing people back out in the wild and wondering why our recidivism rates are so high, this actually would be a step-down type program. And the smart part about it is, it would save the state millions of dollars."

Although West Virginia released some people early because of COVID-19 in the last year, the jail population grew by 2% from June 2020 to September, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. The legislative session begins February 10.

The number of people incarcerated in West Virginia's regional jails has been explosive, according to state data. In 2019, these jails were 20% over capacity.

Pushkin said a large reason is because many are holding defendants awaiting trial who can't afford cash bail - a system he thinks needs to be changed.

"If they had money they wouldn't be there, and that is so unfair," said Pushkin. "And I think we really need to go further with bail reform. Whether we're keeping somebody in there should be based on whether they're a flight risk and whether they're a risk to public safety, and that's it."

Previous attempts at bail reform have failed in the Legislature. The panelists said another area for reform would be to speed up the trial system to prevent people from languishing behind bars, which further compromises their health and safety as they wait to go to court.

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