West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday he was ending a state of emergency for state Department of Corrections employees.
The Republican governor asked the National Guard to help keep staff at the state’s prisons and jails from turning over nearly two years ago, after vacancies topped 30 percent last summer.
“We take pride in always responding to fires,” Adjutant General William E. Crane of the West Virginia National Guard said at a press conference Friday.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice wins Republican primary for Senate
Justice said more than 730 National Guard members were on duty at the state’s 17 prisons during the state of emergency.
FILE – West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks during an election eve party at the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston, West Virginia, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday he was lifting the state of emergency surrounding state Department of Corrections employees. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
About 240 people have graduated from the state’s correctional schools since January 2024. Thirty-eight National Guard members who were assigned to work in prisons and jails have decided to stay on permanently, Crane said.
Last summer, state lawmakers met in a special session and approved more than $21 million in salary increases for corrections officers, as well as two one-time payments of $2,294 each to non-officers, such as kitchen staff.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Governor Justice declared a state of emergency in the state’s prisons and jails in 2017.
