The National Trust released an open letter to the citizens of Charles Town and Jefferson County, West Virginia. In this letter, the Trust released the findings of an on-site evaluation of the jail made by a team of architects led by George Siekkinen, Senior Architect of the National Trust. This study concluded that the historic jail is worthy of preservation, that it is structurally sound, and that it would be more cost effective to renovate the jail as opposed to razing it and building new. The study estimates that renovation would save the county taxpayers between $702,000 and $834,000 over the cost of new construction. These findings were mirrored in a report issued by the West Virginia Preservation Alliance whose own experts determined that the building is structurally solid and presents a prime candidate for rehabilitation. This study notes that many other buildings in West Virginia in much worse condition have been successfully restored.

The United Mine Workers of America and the West Virginia Labor History Association announced their support for the creation of a museum dedicated to telling the story of coal mining, labor heritage, and the treason trials. Discussions are already underway among interested parties including individuals from both organizations, local historians, and scholars and authors who have studied the mine wars and treason trials. Preliminary work has begun on establishing a non-profit foundation for the purpose of raising funds and building collections in order to establish just such a museum. It is the hope of these individuals and the goal of this foundation to lease or otherwise secure space in a renovated jail for this purpose.

A hearing has been set concerning the historic Jefferson County jail for 1:00 pm, Monday, March 31 in the Circuit Court at the Jefferson Court Courthouse. The hearing was requested by Jefferson County Prosecutor Michael Thompson who will seek to have the injunction against demolition of the jail lifted. Apparently Thompson will argue that the recent vote by the county commission to raze the jail will allow them to bypass an historic review. He will make this argument despite a recent 5-0 WV Supreme Court ruling that the original law requiring the review must be followed. Plaintiff's attorney Tom Michaels will likely argue that the commission is making the same ex poste facto argument that they recently lost before the Supreme Court.

According to an article in the Martinsburg Journal, Bill Theriault of the Jefferson County Landmarks Commission criticized the County's new Comprehensive plan. Theriault directed his criticism toward the Planning and Zoning Commission noting that in the two years since the Landmarks Commission had delivered its proposed historic preservation section to the Planning Commission, there had been "no dialogue" between the parties.

"This is very disappointing to us" he said of the plan which reduced the Landmarks Commission's proposal from 14 pages to only one, observing also that the Comprehensive Plan does not even mention the 2-year struggle to save the historic Jefferson County Jail. Among the County's deficiencies, Theriault cited the lack of a reliable survey of the county's historic sites and poor stewardship of county-owned historic structures.

The Martinsburg Journal reports that consultants with the West Virginia Courthouse Improvement Authority have recommended that the Jefferson County jail be torn down. However, as noted by County Circuit Clerk Patricia Noland, the authority does not consider "social concerns", i.e. historic and cultural value. Rather the authority limits itself to questions of function and efficiency. (To see a pointed criticism of the authority, see Justice McGraw's opinion.)

Justice Warren McGraw wrote a concurring opinion in which he warned that the Improvement Authority represented a real threat to the State's historic courthouses especially in light of the Snyder Amendment which he observed gutted West Virginia's preservation statutes. For a complete review of Justice McGraw's opinion go to the "Justice McGraw's Opinion."