Dec.
10, 2018
Gov.
Justice appoints new chair, member to W.Va. Parole Board
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – Gov. Jim Justice has selected two law-and-order veterans
to serve on the West Virginia Parole Board, including one as its chair.
Jennifer Saad and Cedric Robertson were
appointed effective Dec. 9, each to terms ending in June 2023.
Saad, who was also appointed chairperson,
retired last month from the federal Bureau of Prisons. She had started her
nearly 30-year career with the U.S. Department of Justice as a correctional
officer in 1989. After rising to positions of increasing responsibility, Saad
became a warden in 2015.
While warden of the Federal Correctional
Institution, Gilmer, in 2016, Saad was appointed to the federal Senior
Executive Service (SES). She was also named New Warden of the Year in 2016, for
her exceptional leadership skills and for reentry initiatives that contributed
to lower recidivism rates among releasing offenders.
“I am humbled by the governor’s
appointment, and honored to serve the State of West Virginia,” Saad said. “I look
forward to the new assignment.”
Robertson served for more than 30 years on
the Beckley Police Department. After joining the force in mid-1975, Robertson
made detective in 1981 and later became chief of detectives in 1999. He retired
as a captain in 2006. He was later elected to Beckley City Council for two
terms, and most recently worked as a criminal investigator for the state Tax
Department.
Also thanking Gov. Justice as well as
Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jeff Sandy, Robertson noted that
the “duties and responsibility of such an important appointment cannot be taken
lightly.”
“From my career in law enforcement, I know
that there are many variables in human characteristics that have to be
understood when considering crime and punishment,” Robertson said. “I am
confident that I bring additional perspective and strength to the Parole Board
process.”
Part of the W.Va. Department of Military Affairs and Public
Safety, the nine-member Parole Board performs a critical role in the state’s
criminal justice system. Hearing cases
in panels of three, it contributes to public safety by facilitating the return
of offenders to society as law-abiding citizens. Besides its independent oversight of
conditional releases for adult offenders, it also makes clemency
recommendations to the governor.
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