Marshall to lead West Virginia Corrections and Rehabilitation division

Wood County resident commanded Parkersburg State Police detachment

PARKERSBURG -- A longtime Wood County resident and retired state trooper will lead the state's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

William K. "Billy" Marshall III was announced by Gov. Jim Justice Thursday as the new commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the agency under the Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for the state's correctional facilities for adults and juveniles.

Marshall has served as the assistant commissioner for the division and its Bureau of Juvenile Services since May 2018.

"I don't have all the answers, but I certainly have the work ethic and the desire," Marshall said by phone Thursday. "It's a tremendous challenge, but I'm going to put in the work."

A graduate of Wahama High School, Marshall joined the West Virginia State Police in 1992, serving in Cabell and Jackson counties before becoming a member of the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force. In 2001, he and his wife Jodi moved from Mason County to Mineral Wells.

"We've raised all of our children there in Wood County," said Marshall, who has five children and two stepchildren.

Marshall served as commander of the State Police detachments in Pleasants County then Wood County. After three years in Charleston as the State Police deputy director of traffic records, he returned to lead the Parkersburg detachment and retired at age 47 in July 2017.

He joined the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety a few weeks later, tasked with building its Criminal Investigation Division from the ground up.

"That was very intriguing to me," Marshall said.

He was then approached about becoming the director of Juvenile Services, an opportunity that appealed to him as a father and an assistant football and basketball coach at Parkersburg South High and Edison Middle School.

"I just thought that might be something that was right in my wheelhouse," he said.

Marshall became assistant commissioner when the agencies were reorganized in 2018.

"It's given me an opportunity to really make a difference" serving both the state's residents and the division's employees, he said.

When the possibility of becoming commissioner came up, Marshall said he received support from his wife and co-workers. He said the division has a great team that he hopes to add to and perhaps move some people around to make it work better.

"I think that relationships are the No. 1 priority that we need to establish," he said, pointing to relationships with not only employees and state leaders but inmates and juvenile offenders.

A major challenge for the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lately has been staffing. Marshall said he wants to look at not only attracting more workers but at the manner in which facilities are staffed. The inmate population is down compared to last year, he said, but there are still staffing shortages based on programming offered at facilities.

"I want to tackle the blueprint of how our facilities are staffed," Marshall said. "I want to make it a job that people want to have, they want to come to work."

Marshall's appointment received endorsements Thursday from local law enforcement officials.

"I've known Billy for the better part of 20 years," Parkersburg Police Chief Matthew Board said. "A very kind heart and tremendously intelligent … he'll do a tremendous job."

Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard said he worked on a number of cases with Marshall.

"There is not a better outstanding individual for that position than Billy Marshall," he said. "He will do an excellent job in that role."

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.