The Southern Regional Jail (SRJ), located near Beckley, has one of the highest number of deaths. Beckley is a small Appalachian town that historically has had a significant Black population, especially when coal mining jobs were common. One of the most well-known murder cases at the SRJ was that of 37-year-old Quantez “Quan” Burks, who was officially pronounced dead on March 1, 2022. This African American man grew up in Beckley.

Burks was arrested on February 28, 2022, and authorities unsurprisingly gave his family a hard time from the beginning. When Burks’ family members were finally able to see his body, they discovered he had broken wrists and a broken nose, along with other broken bones throughout his body and internal bleeding. Their findings indicate Burks was beaten to death while in handcuffs.

LaTasha Williams, Burks’ fiancée, was among the rally’s speakers. She highlighted the racist double standard in the ordeal that the Burks’ whole family went through: “The guards initially lied to us, telling us Quan simply died of a heart attack, which is bullshit. Now, the police, the governor and the legislators refuse to answer questions we have. We know their treatment towards us would have been different had Quan been rich and white.”

Quantez Burks’ daughter, Kiera Cooper, and his mother, Kimberly Burks, gave passionate speeches. Cooper stressed, “We will not stop until we get the justice my father deserves.”