JULIAN, W.Va. — Putnam County Judge Phillip Stowers has been promoted to Chairman of the state’s Juvenile Justice Commission. Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman announced the move at the Donald R. Kuhn Juvenile center in Julian on Tuesday.
Workman created the commission in 2011 in the wake of the death of a young inmate at the Salem Industrial Home for Youth.
“I sat down with them and said, ‘I don’t want this to be one of those committees that goes around and has a few study groups, issues a real good looking high quality color glossy report that sits on a shelf and pats itself on the back’,” said Justice Workman. “It’s been so much different than that.”
Justice Workman said the judges on the panel have toured all of the state’s juvenile detention centers and have an open dialogue with not only staff, but also the juveniles held there.
“When we help a juvenile we keep them in school, we improve an entire family with our outreach programs,” said Judge Stowers. “We improve a whole family and make our state strong.”
Stowers replaced Judge Omar Aboulhosun who resigned to become a Federal Magistrate. During the announcement in Boone County, Justice Workman also announced Logan County Judge Eric O’Briant has also been named to the commission.