Woman sues Jail Authority for wrongful detainment

CHARLESTON -- A woman is suing West Virginia Regional Jail Authority after she claims she was wrongfully detained one day longer than her sentence.

The Western Regional Jail was also named as a defendant in the suit.

On Feb. 1, 2010, Brenda Lou Rhodes entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor offenses and was sentenced on July 1, 2010, to serve 60 days of incarceration and three years probation, according to a complaint filed March 2 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Rhodes claims she was supposed to be released on Aug. 30, 2010, but the defendants did not release her until Aug. 31, 2010.

The Western Regional Jail kept the first $30 of Rhodes' commissary money as a processing fee, which they did not refund upon her release, according to the suit.

Rhodes claims as a result of the defendants' negligence, she suffered emotional, mental and physical anguish; injury; aggravation; annoyance; inconvenience; humiliation; embarrassment; severe emotional distress; post-traumatic stress disorder; economic loss; incarceration; and loss of liberty.

Rhodes is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Shawn D. Bayliss and Michael T. Clifford.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. Bloom.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-397