WEST VIRGINIA (WTRF) – The Mountain State is facing even more corrections problems now… and not just at the state and local levels.
A federal prison is having similar issues
Three years ago, corrections officers picketed outside the Hazelton correctional facility in Preston County. Their chief complaint was that short-staffing, and overcrowding of inmates made the facility very dangerous. They also wanted better pay and benefits.
Now, a whistleblower has come forward documenting numerous other issues, and the state’s congressional delegation is asking the White House and Federal Bureau of Prisons for help.
As with the state prisons and county jails, low salaries only fuel the problems.
“You’re low pay, long hours, and in difficult situations. That’s not to excuse inhumane conditions, no. But you can see it all becomes part of a system, that then deteriorates over time.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito – (R) West Virginia
Senator Capito says while inmates were sent to prisons and jails for breaking the law, they still have civil rights and need to be treated with humane conditions.
As of now, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has not released a report on the Hazelton investigation
