WVA Prison Chief Named To Head Federal Bureau Of Prisons

William “Billy” Marshall, head of the West Virginia corrections department, has been selected to lead the federal Bureau of Prisons, a Trump administration choice that took advocates for federal prison staff and incarcerated people aback, reports the Los Angeles Times. “Billy is a Strong Advocate for LAW AND ORDER,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He understands the struggles of our prisons better than anyone, and will help fix our broken Criminal Justice System.” Marshall will run an agency that has been understaffed and plagued by scandal for years. The bureau has recently faced congressional scrutiny, and its union leaders are unhappy about Trump's order to end collective bargaining for federal workers.

After decades in law enforcement, Marshall was named in January 2023 to run the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which includes the state’s prisons, jails and juvenile lockups. He had been assistant commissioner for the division and the head of the juvenile corrections division. He spent 25 years in the state police and worked as a criminal investigation director for what is now the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. The West Virginia corrections department incarcerates about 10,000 people on a typical day, while the federal system houses more than 150,000. Sen. Jim Justice (R-WVA)) — who, as governor, appointed Marshall to lead the state’s prison system, said, “I was proud to put Billy in charge of our Department of Corrections in West Virginia and we were able to turn it around after decades of decay. I have full confidence in him & know he will do a great job." Justice wrote. When Marshall took over, the state’s prisons were in the midst of a staffing crisis so severe that the governor declared a state of emergency and used the National Guard as correctional officers. Much like West Virginia, the federal Bureau of Prisons has dealt with problems, including staffing shortages, preventable deaths and overuse of solitary confinement.