BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – A lawsuit filed against Governor Jim Justice and Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Mark Sorsaia regarding the conditions of West Virginia’s corrections system has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger of the Southern District of West Virginia issued the dismissal order Tuesday.
The lawsuit, which was filed by three incarcerated individuals on behalf of all currently incarcerated persons housed in West Virginia state prisons, jails and juvenile centers, alleged that the governor and the cabinet secretary had “failed to alleviate pervasive conditions of overcrowding, understaffing, and deferred maintenance at all such facilities for over a decade, and as a result, they alleged that “West Virginia inmates have suffered inhumane conditions of confinement and deliberate indifference to their health and safety in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
The suit also sought more than $270 million in deferred maintenance and for the state to spend $60 million to fill staffing vacancies at the time.
The court found that the plaintiffs do not have standing to pursue this action against Sorsaia or Justice because there is not a “causal connection” between their conduct and the injuries alleged in the lawsuit. In other words, Sorsaia and Justice are not responsible for the issues detailed in the lawsuit.
The ruling also notes that the court does not have authority to order the governor to perform discretionary acts and that it remains “merely speculative” that a favorable decision would address the injuries alleged.
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