West Virginia Senate President Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, announced last week that Sen. Evan Jenkins, D-Cabell, immediately will
begin serving on the Council of State Governments' prison
overcrowding working
group.
"Prison
overcrowding is a serious public policy issue that affects all
West Virginia
taxpayers," Kessler said. "It
is
imperative that a comprehensive plan and coordinated approach be
developed to
reverse the current trend of prison population growth."
Jenkins says protecting the public and holding criminals
accountable for their
actions is his top priority.
"While
that
is job one, we must also look at the complete criminal justice
system and make
changes in those areas," Jenkins said. "Significant costs, like
our prison
overcrowding problem, continue to place enormous pressure on the
taxpayers of
West Virginia. I appreciate this appointment to help craft real,
meaningful
solutions to these difficult issues."
Sen. Bill Laird, D-Fayette, will head the Senate delegation to the
group. Other
members of the group are
Sen. Mike Hall, R-Putnam, along with three members of the
House of
Delegates, top court officials, state agency directors and
criminal justice
stakeholders. The
bipartisan
group will review trends in the state's criminal justice system
and ultimately
develop policy options for state leaders to review for the
upcoming 2013 legislative
session.
Jenkins replaces former Sen. Mark Wills.
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