West Virginians released from prison are not allowed to vote until their parole or probation period is over and their sentence is complete.

Since people can be placed on parole in some cases for up to ten years for low-level offenses, criminal justice advocates said they are effectively barred from civic participation, even as they get jobs and resume community life.

Ashley Omps, criminal justice advocate for the group West Virginia Family of Convicted People, said Senate Bill 235, which restores the right to vote upon physical release from prison, would streamline the process of helping more people become part of their communities.

"If you are reintegrated back out into society, after serving your sentence, probation and parole, you're paying taxes and working, and you're technically a part of society again," Omps asserted. "We just feel like it's your right to be able to vote."

The state also is taking action to reduce its prison population. Lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 232, which would help divert people with serious mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance use disorders from incarceration, and into appropriate community behavioral-health settings. The bill creates a statewide study group to develop recommendations.

Kenny Matthews, criminal justice advocate for the American Friends Service Committee, said another tool to reduce the number of people in prison is known as earned compliance credit. It is a system which creates "credits" or incentives based on earning a college degree, or other positive actions after prison, resulting in reduced supervision time.

West Virginia lawmakers are considering it, in House Bill 3445, which Matthews argued would benefit communities.

"So, you have the ability to incentivize people to do what's right and what they should do, as well as a mechanism to reduce the caseload and the incarceration rate," Matthews explained.

Research shows states like Maryland and New York have saved money by implementing earned compliance credits.

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a report on the state of Georgia's prisons, citing horrific conditions and extreme violence.

The investigation found the state has failed to protect incarcerated individuals, leaving them vulnerable to abuse, neglect and gang violence.

Kristen Clarke, assistant Attorney General for civil rights, said urgent action is needed to help keep people behind bars safe.

"We uncovered long-standing systemic violations stemming from complete indifference and disregard to the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons," Clarke reported.

The Justice Department's report uncovered an unconstitutional risk of sexual violence against LGBTQ+ people. From 2018 to 2023, there were also 142 reported homicides, with a nearly 96% spike in 2021 and 2023.

Ryan Buchanan, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, highlighted the report's findings of widespread mismanagement in Georgia's prisons. He said a lack of supervision has allowed gangs to take control of key prison functions.

"Gang members have co-opted certain administrative functions like bed assignments from the Department of Corrections," Buchanan pointed out. "They have extorted money from the family members of incarcerated people."

The Justice Department is recommending urgent reforms, including increased supervision, better staffing and improvements in how those incarcerated are classified and housed. Officials expressed their commitment to working with state authorities to quickly implement changes.


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Recent problems in South Dakota prisons have concerned lawmakers, corrections commission members and family members of those incarcerated, who formed a new support group.

South Dakotans Impacted by Incarceration was formed this year, after the state's Department of Corrections in March suspended calls and messaging on tablets used by people in prison due to what it called an "investigation." The services were eventually reinstated.

Nieema Thasing, co-founder of the advocacy group, said the department's lack of communication on the issue was one of many reasons she started the group, which hosted its first public meeting last month, attended by some lawmakers, sheriffs and other officials.

"They were all taken aback because they had no idea that these things were happening because they had been getting it from other people trying to soothe everything away."

The South Dakota Corrections Commission also met last month for its first meeting since October 2023 and members expressed concerns about the Commission's role. Member David McGirr said the commission "is not serving its intended purpose," according to meeting minutes, and requested a legislative review of the commission.

Erin Vicars, another of the group's co-founders, said she could "go on and on" about major problems at the state's prisons. Her list includes health care access, lack of in-prison jobs, lockdowns, changes in commissary items, food quality and a lack of transparency from prison leadership.

"People often forget that prison itself is a punishment, not the conditions," Vicars pointed out.

The group is planning another meeting this month. Meanwhile, the state has allocated more than $650 million combined toward a planned men's prison in Lincoln County and a women's correctional facility in Rapid City.


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Today, advocates in North Carolina are kicking off a 136-mile "Walk for Commutation" to raise awareness about those on death row who could soon face execution.

Organized by the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the walk is part of a larger push that calls on Gov. Roy Cooper to commute the death sentences before he leaves office.

Noel Nickle, executive director of the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, stresses the urgency as the state prepares for a change in leadership.

"There's really no denying the racism of the death penalty," Nickle explained. "There's also no denying that death sentences have dramatically decreased. Most people on death row were sentenced more than 20 years ago. People are aging. They are no longer, if they ever were, a threat to our communities. We know that the death penalty doesn't keep us safe."

North Carolina has not executed anyone since 2006, but concerns are growing that the state may follow South Carolina's recent decision to restart executions after a 13-year pause.

Nickle called attention to the racial and geographic disparities in death penalty cases. She explained that 60% of the people on death row are Black despite them making up a smaller share of the state population, and added that being put on death row can sometimes depend on where you live.

"For example, we'll be walking through Chapel Hill and Durham as well where there's no one on death row and where the district attorneys have said -- in fact, they were elected on a platform of not seeking the death penalty," she said.

Nickle added the coalition's goal is to spark a statewide conversation about the death penalty's flaws and the urgent need for reform. The walk will begin outside of the Forsyth County Courthouse and conclude on Oct. 10, which is World Day Against the Death Penalty.


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