CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice named Loita Butcher as acting commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections.
Butcher will be the first woman to oversee the state’s prison system, which includes 16 operating facilities, 2,400 full-time employees and a $255 million budget.
“I want to thank Governor Justice and Secretary Sandy for their confidence in my abilities to undertake this challenge,” Butcher said in a statement Friday. “I am confident that with the support and hard work of the dedicated employees of our agency, we can move the Division of Corrections to higher levels of excellence.”
Butcher has been with the division since March 1994, and has spent more than 30 years involved in law enforcement and public safety.
Butcher most recently served as assistant commissioner, and succeeds Jim Rubenstein, whose retirement will go into effect Saturday.