BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The mother of Quantez Burks, a Beckley man who died at Southern Regional Jail on March 1, 2022, told Governor Jim Justice that she and other families need answers about those who have died at the jail in Beaver.

Kimberly Burks of Beckley stood up during Justice’s town hall meeting to talk about a number of deaths at Southern Regional Jail.

West Virginia jails are among the deadliest in the nation, according to statistics by Reuters and West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“I’m not going away,” Burks told Justice, who was at Tamarack for a town hall meeting to talk about his tax plan. “I need answers, and I need them now. I have yet to hear from anybody to acknowledge my family.”

Justice listened, then told Burks he did not want her to go away but said the jail has been investigated.

Outside the meeting, Burks told 59News she wanted answers for the deaths reported at the jail over the past two years.

“Those who go to that jail is not guaranteed to come out the next day,” Burks said. “And it keeps happening, and I don’t want these families to go through what I go through.”

Burks’ 37-year-old son was in the jail less than 24 hours when he died.

The West Virginia Medical Examiner ruled he died of natural causes, due to heart issues.

Burks said a private autopsy showed he had injuries consistent with a beating and that he had died of a heart attack.