JAIL OFFICIALS SAY SITUATION IS 'UNDER CONTROL'

Despite recent allegations of overcrowded and inhumane conditions in West
Virginia's regional jail facilities, representatives of the Regional Jail
and Correctional Facility Authority report the issue is "under control" and
being remedied on schedule.

Local inmates at West Virginia Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville have
made recent allegations of inhumane living conditions, resulting of the
facility being overpopulated. Reports included charges of housing 20
inmates in 16-bunk pods, repeated incidents of poor medical treatment and
medication mistakes, inadequate meal provisions and denial of outside
recreation because of a lack of officers to supervise. However, Steve
Canterbury, executive director of the Regional Jail and Correctional
Facility Authority, reported the authority has been addressing these issues
since the mid-1980s and, other than a few unexpected miscalculations
regarding felon intake, the jail population problem is being resolved
according to an established schedule.

"A lot of people have misconceptions regarding the seriousness of the state
legislature regarding this matter," said Canterbury. "It was made very
clear that the standards set for these facilities were not being met, and
our mission is to get a handle on the growing population of the state's
prisons and jails. We are working according to a 20-year plan initiated in
1985."

With only three years remaining, this 20-year plan is quickly reaching its
close with regional jail facilities still operating at an estimated 10
percent above their maximum capacity. But, according to Canterbury, this is
a great improvement from the excessive numbers housed in West Virginia
correctional facilities prior to this effort.

"What we have now is a crowded situation. We are over our limit by about 10
percent," said Canterbury. "We were overcrowded when this began, but now I
would say that we are just crowded. The conditions are by no means great,
but they are much better than what they could be and what they once were."

Canterbury explained total elimination of this population problem requires
"hundreds of millions of dollars" in construction costs and staff hiring
and takes an extensive period of time, far surpassing the provisions of the
20-year plan. This does not mean there is no current progression. As it now
stands, there are eight functioning regional jail facilities in West
Virginia, and two additional facilities are expected to be completed by the
spring of 2005, provided financing remains available.

Other measures are also being taken as alternatives to erecting even more
of the expensive correctional facilities. Several hundred cells are
currently being added to the Huttonsville facility, and numerous cells are
being constructed at the prison in St. Mary's. These facilities, where
construction projects are anticipated to be completed sometime after the
spring of 2003, are operated through the Division of Corrections, but
Canterbury explained the need for additional Division of Corrections
housing is at the root of the regional jails' crowding issue.

"Because of a Supreme Court ruling, DOC doesn't take people until they have
a space for them, and they get backed up with us," said Canterbury. "If we
didn't have such an aggressive construction situation, we would have to
start velcroing them to the walls and ceiling. ... We're juggling right
now, but at least we're keeping all the balls in the air."

In addition to the construction projects currently under way, corrections
authorities also have devised several forms of behavioral rehabilitation
not involving incarceration, for non-violent offenders. These types of
programs offer a means of disciplining and rehabilitating would-be inmates,
without occupying the desperately needed cells in West Virginia jails.

These types of programs also save the state an immense amount of money
because they permit offenders to continue working and supporting themselves
and their families financially. One such alternative is the Day Report
Center in Wheeling. While it is located in Ohio County , the center serves
the same jurisdiction as the Northern Regional Jail and offers residents in
Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock counties who might otherwise become
incarcerated a chance to continue working while completing rehabilitation.

Those assigned to the center as part of their restitution are required to
report to the center daily. While at the center, offenders have access to
rehabilitation programs such as drug and alcohol abuse counseling, anger
management, abuse counseling, assistance in preparing for employment and
succeeding at job interviews and GED completion courses. The program has
not been up and running long enough for accurate data on success rates to
become available, but officials believe the facility more appropriately
addresses nonviolent offenders, giving them opportunities to participate in
corrective measures that might not be available to them at a regional jail.

"We believe it (Day Report Center) will have a positive effect on
rehabilitation and get those who could serve their time elsewhere out of
the prisons, freeing up that space," said Canterbury, who reported the
center potentially could save counties $300,000- $400,000 annually. "I
believe society will see a better rehabilitation that will keep some of
these people working, providing for themselves and taking care of their
families."

Despite these many advancements being made in the population problems
throughout the state's correctional facilities, it is a persistent problem
with a fluctuating intensity, often dependent on changes in economy, state
law and codes and general crime rates. Authorities say the problem is being
handled to the best of their ability.

"In 1989 we were authorized to develop a master plan. They were exactly
right in predicting misdemeanors, but they missed estimated felons by a
mile. There have been changes in rules and codes, and people aren't coming
out quite as quickly as they once were. But aside from that, we are pretty
much on schedule," explained Canterbury, who attributed some of this
miscalculation to changes in state laws regarding domestic violence and
driving under the influence. "West Virginia was one of the last states to
criminalize domestic violence, and we also made third offense DUIs a felony
and that has greatly effected our prison population. The cumulative impact
has been a dramatic rise in inmate population."

Canterbury reported that since 1997 the Regional Jail Authority and
Division of Corrections have been building more sophisticated databases and
trying to more accurately calculate the problem in hopes of being able to
more efficiently prepare for the next 20 years, but it is a difficult process.

"I really think it is important that people understand the various angles
of these. These are goals that we have set, and they are being met by and
large. But it's a frustrating game," said Canterbury. "Reports have shown
that even if there were no dramatic changes in codes or prisoner intake, at
this rate we will have to find additional space for 2,400 additional
inmates by 2011."