Sept 8, 2021
Justice adds Wood lawyer to W.Va. regional jail board
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Jim Justice has appointed Wood County lawyer William O. Merriman Jr. to the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board.
Merriman has been a lawyer in West Virginia since 1996. He is a graduate of Parkersburg High School, Glenville State College and Capital University.
The board's role was greatly revamped when West Virginia consolidated its correctional system in 2018. The operation of and authority over the state's 10 regional jails was transferred to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The board recently oversaw the final payment toward the bonds that funded the jails' construction. It must now transfer any remaining funds reserved for the bonds to DCR with instructions for their use. The board's remaining responsibility relates to the fee charged to counties and municipalities for housing inmates in the jails: it can challenge this “per diem" fee, calculated by the State Budget Office, in court.
Justice appointed Merriman on Aug. 6, to a term that expires June 30, 2025.
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