DOJ: Mississippi prisons endangered inmates, violated rights
- DOJ: Three Mississippi prisons violated inmates' constitutional rights
- Staffing shortages have allowed gangs to wield more influence
- Physical violence and dangerous living conditions cited among concerns
FILE _ The logo of the Mississippi Department of Corrections is shown on the shirt of a corrections officer on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl, Miss. The U.S. Justice Department released a report Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, saying Mississippi has failed to protect inmates at three prisons from violence because it does not adequately supervise incarcerated people, control contraband or investigate harm and misconduct, (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
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(NewsNation) – Three Mississippi prisons violated inmates’ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from physical violence and dangerous living conditions, according to a Justice Department investigation.
The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, South Mississippi Correctional Institution and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility violated the Eighth Amendment and 14th Amendments rights of detainees, according to findings detailed in a 60-page report from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The prisons collectively house about 7,200 people, according to a DOJ news release.
Mississippi is accused of failing to properly supervise prisoners, control the flow of contraband, investigate serious harm, and provide adequate living conditions.
Chronic understaffing has made the situation worse by allowing gangs to establish influence from inside the prisons. The Mississippi Department of Corrections is experiencing job vacancy rates of 30% to 50%, The Associated Press reported.
Prolonged, restrictive housing under harsh conditions at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility additionally puts detainees at “substantial risk of serious physical and psychological harm,” according to the release. Reports of violence included sexual assault, according to an AP report.
“Our investigation uncovered chronic, systemic deficiencies that create and perpetuate violent and unsafe environments for people incarcerated at these three Mississippi facilities,
said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The unconstitutional conditions in Mississippi’s prisons have existed for far too long.”
The findings underscore those of an April 2022 report that determined Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman, violated detainees’ rights by subjecting them to violence, failing to provide adequate care for serious mental health needs or adequate suicide prevention measures, and using “prolonged restrictive housing” that posed a risk of serious harm.
“The conclusion of the investigation and the issuance of findings is only the start of the work necessary to ensure that the state of Mississippi and the Mississippi Department of Corrections fulfill their constitutional obligations to the people it incarcerates,” said U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi.
