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It seems as though plaintiffs in a lawsuit regarding the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation in West Virginia aimed for the wrong targets, according to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger. She granted motions to dismiss the class action lawsuit against Gov. Jim Justice and state Department of Homeland Security Cabinet Secretary Mark Sorsaia earlier this month.
But importantly, Berger did not rule the accusation of poor conditions bordering on cruel and unusual punishment and complaints of alleged injuries were without merit. She ruled the plaintiffs did not establish a "causal connection" between Justice and Sorsaia and the allegations; and that an order against the governor was unlikely to remedy the alleged unconstitutional conditions.
One can't help but wonder whether the timing of Justice's lifting in May of the state of emergency to address jail staffing shortages, which he had imposed in 2022, had anything to do with this case.
Berger said the plaintiffs should have sued the West Virginia Legislature, which passes the general revenue budget that funds the DCR, and the DCR, itself.
"... the text of the Complaint suggests that the Plaintiffs' injuries are traceable to and redressable by the independent action of the state Legislature and Commissioner of DCR, neither of which are parties to this matter," Berger ruled.
West Virginia has been accused of understaffing, overcrowding and delays of deferred maintenance for the state's corrections system. Efforts to address those concerns must not stop because a state of emergency is lifted or a judge rules the wrong entities are being blamed.
Public officials had better forget about the blame game and be determined to do the right thing.
Our facilities must be properly maintained and supported; and the inmates' Eighth Amendment rights must be ensured.