Honaker updates lawmakers about jails and prisons investigation

Mike Honaker, inspector general for the state Department of Homeland Security, talks to lawmakers Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, about his investigation into the state's prisons and jails. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security’s newly appointed inspector general told lawmakers Thursday that he plans to complete an investigation into the state’s prisons and jails by this spring, with a final report submitted for review possibly in June.

DHS Inspector General Mike Honaker said Thursday that the House Committee on Jails and Prisons asked him in a November letter for a “comprehensive inspection or investigation” of all the state’s jails and prisons. Honaker outlined the investigation during a presentation to the committee Thursday morning.

Honaker said as part of his inspection process, he is personally making unannounced visits to every state correctional facility to conduct interviews with inmates and staff members as well as inspecting the buildings.

“What that process looks like, I would say this: it’s not a simple, quick visit,” Honaker said. “The last facility that I inspected, I was there for seven hours from the time that I arrived.”

Honaker resigned from the House in August when Gov. Jim Justice appointed him inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security . Honaker is a retired Virginia State trooper and was the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Greenbrier County 911 Center.

The state has 25 adult jails and prisons and 10 juvenile correctional facilities, according to the Division of Corrections website. The state’s correctional facilities have had long-standing overcrowding issues and staffing shortages. Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency over staffing shortages in August 2022.

The state has also faced numerous lawsuits over conditions within the jails, including one over inhumane conditions at Southern Regional Jail . In addition, eight correctional officers at the Raleigh County jail have faced criminal charges over a March 2022 assault that led to an inmate’s death.

In a special session in August , legislators passed a bill increasing pay for uniformed correctional officers and offering bonuses for non-uniformed staff members.

The committee on Thursday advanced another bill that would raise pay for non-uniformed employees.

Honaker said he meets with the superintendent of each facility when he arrives and that they understand they are to allow him “unhindered, absolutely unfettered access” to the facility, inmate and staff. His inspection includes the facility’s kitchen, medical area, recreational facilities and visits to the inmate pods to ensure they have hot water and toilets that flush.

Honaker said he had visited five facilities so far and plans to visit two more Friday and Monday. He said he anticipates having visited all the facilities by May and having a report ready to submit to the governor’s office that could possibly be shared during June interim meetings.

Honaker said his mission is to make sure every state prison and jail has the same use of force policy.

“I want to make sure if we’re using force in our facilities, that we’re doing it within the guardrails of policy and it is a minimum force necessary to control that situation,” Honaker said. “And we’re not going to tolerate excessive force against inmates, regardless of what they broke, what they said, who they kicked. We’re better than that. We’re held to a higher standard.”

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