CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The families of people who died at Southern Regional Jail met at the steps of the West Virginia State Capitol Friday morning to fight for justice for their lost loved ones.
They were joined by the West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign and its National Co-Chair, Bishop William Barber II, among other organizations, to present Governor Justice with a petition signed by nearly a thousand people. It calls for the Department of Justice to conduct a full federal investigation into SRJ and other local prisons across the state.
A total of 13 deaths that had reportedly occurred at SRJ last year alone, along with reports of inhumane treatment to the inmates at the jail have now initiated an ongoing cause for their loved one’s
to stand against the system in civil and peaceful protest.
Kimberly Burks, whose son Quantez Burks who died at the jail shortly after his arrival in March of last year, was just one of the grieving family members to join the rally at the capitol Friday in search for answers.
“Not only do we need to bring attention to the injustice that is going on in the jail, we need to hold these departments accountable for what they’ve done that means the governor, the chief of police, the CO’s especially,” stated Burks on the steps of the capitol.
Burks said that her son died in jail less than 48 hours after his incarceration. Within that time, she said that he suffered from multiple beatings and injuries, including broken wrists from being beaten in handcuffs, a broken arm, leg, and a broken nose. Burks went onto to say that she was never immediately informed about her son’s demise by anyone.
After the state’s autopsy report claimed that he had died of natural causes, a private autopsy conducted by the Burks family showed that he died of blunt force trauma and a heart attack caused by the stress he had endured during his brief time behind bars.
Burks said that there’s a bigger problem at stake and that the system needs to change.
“The whole system needs to go in the trash and be revamped, because there is a crisis here, I do not want to see another family go through what we’ve been through,” Burks said.
Alvin Shrewsberry was another inmate who died in SRJ and whose family also joined Friday’s rally. He too had died in the jail last year after 19 days he was held, also with reports of similar maltreatment.
His daughter, Miranda Smith, claimed that Shrewsberry was ignored by correctional officers and was neglected by medical staff to treat his injuries. She said that the only way their family received any news of his condition at all was through information revealed to them by other inmates.
“If you don’t have contact with other inmates who were housed with your loved ones, you may never find out anything that happened while they were in jail, especially if you don’t keep in touch constantly. The angst of not knowing was stronger than my grief,” Smith said.
The Co-Chair of the West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign, Stewart Acuff, said that overcrowding is a big part of the problem, estimating that regional jails are currently around 130% to 150% at full capacity.
While he said the overcrowding issue stems from the state’s ongoing opioid crisis and their lack of resources to properly handle it, he added that it also simply comes down to the neglect of the inmate’s basic rights to safety during their time behind bars.
“If the state takes a citizen into custody they have a responsibility to keep that person safe and to make sure that that person doesn’t suffer any more than his or her sentence,” said Acuff.
The Tri-Chair of the organization for the state, Pam Garrison, said that they were there Friday to give those inmates a voice, and that it’s going to take everyone standing up against the system for change to happen.
“It’s encouraging to see how many people are standing up, because that’s what it’s going to take, we’re not going to have change just watching it and doing nothing,” said Garrison.
Bishop Barber confirmed that the Justice Department had received their file for a complete civil rights investigation into the jails and are evaluating what to do about it, adding that rest cannot happen until that justice is served.
“As long as West Virginians perish in prison without reason, without accountability, we cannot rest until every family is delivered truth, and every departed soul is delivered peace,” Barber stated.
He added that there were approximately 114 deaths in regional jails within the last 10 years alone, averaging a total of 1 person per month.