Incarceration

While the rest of the country is experiencing sharp declines in the number of youth confined to correctional and residential facilities, West Virginia confines a higher share of its youth than almost any state in the nation. Why is this?

On this West Virginia Morning, we conclude a special three-part series on HIV and AIDS in West Virginia. Also, in this show, we have a conversation with a reporter who spent her summer covering the juvenile justice system in West Virginia.

On this West Virginia Morning, people who have been incarcerated, once they get out, often struggle to find a job and a place to live. Those struggles often drive them back to crime, but re-entry councils are helping to address that problem. Also, in this show, Kanawha County has the most alarming HIV outbreak in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but a small team from the CDC is on the way to help.

Berkeley County’s Community Service Roadside Litter Program, which launched three years ago, is the only litter program in the state that is full-time, runs five days a week and uses community service day-in-and-day-out. Most of the participants are people who have chosen community service instead of being incarcerated.

On this West Virginia Morning, 20 percent of people who have been sentenced to life in prison under West Virginia’s three strike law are Black men. But West Virginia’s population is less than 4 percent Black. We explore the disparities.

On this West Virginia Morning, we hear about a project highlighting issues women experience while incarcerated and after release. Also, we bring you a story that takes a closer look at the coronavirus pandemic's impact on veterans, and we share an excerpt from the latest episode of the Us & Them podcast.

Some state lawmakers in West Virginia are looking at some ways to address our overcrowded prison system and help more previously incarcerated people…

A West Virginia city council has passed a bill allowing people to perform community service at nonprofit organizations and public entities in lieu of…