A federal judge ordered a re-examination of a private prison in Mississippi after a trial in which inmates alleged unconstitutionally harsh conditions, according to the U.S. News.
U.S. District Judge William Barbour is responding to a trial from four months ago concerning conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian. The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center represented the group of inmates who alleged the conditions violated the eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
U.S. District Judge William Barbour is responding to a trial from four months ago concerning conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian. The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center represented the group of inmates who alleged the conditions violated the eighth amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
More than 80 percent of the 1,200 inmates at East Mississippi have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. One of the lead attorneys for the state, William Siller, said during the trial that the two groups suing the state…”want private prisons out of business.”
While the Mississippi Department of Corrections said that they have made key improvements, Barbour maintains that his visit to the prison implied otherwise.
While the Mississippi Department of Corrections said that they have made key improvements, Barbour maintains that his visit to the prison implied otherwise.
He wrote, “The decrepit cell and common-area conditions that were documented as having existed when the lawsuit was filed in 2013, were not present when the facility was toured by the undersigned during trial.”
Barbour ordered reports on East Mississippi’s medical care, including mental health, and staffing numbers due by December with the potential for a hearing in January.
Barbour ordered reports on East Mississippi’s medical care, including mental health, and staffing numbers due by December with the potential for a hearing in January.
Jody Owens, a lawyer for the Southern Poverty Law Center said, “Either way it is a win, win for us. Either the facility will be better for our clients or they will have to acknowledge they haven’t been forthcoming about the changes that have been occurring.”
“want private prisons out of business”
Shaw said that conditions are no worse than other prisons and claimed violence is “the nature of prisons.”
Lawyers for the state also defended solitary confinement, claiming that it is a needed disciplinary tool.
The inmates testified that they found rodent droppings in the prison’s kitchen and often times toilets and showers were backed up with sewage. The inmates also allegedly found cockroaches.
A group of inmates testified that an inmate died because of a medical emergency. He was lying in his cell unconscious in his feces and urine, while the other inmates banged on their doors to get the guards attention.
Lawyers defending the state argued conditions were not that bad in many cases, alleging that inmates were to blame. They claimed that plumbing problems often resulted from inmates flushing things down the toilet and that lights were broken because prisoners used wires to make weapons.
The inmates testified that they found rodent droppings in the prison’s kitchen and often times toilets and showers were backed up with sewage. The inmates also allegedly found cockroaches.
A group of inmates testified that an inmate died because of a medical emergency. He was lying in his cell unconscious in his feces and urine, while the other inmates banged on their doors to get the guards attention.
Lawyers defending the state argued conditions were not that bad in many cases, alleging that inmates were to blame. They claimed that plumbing problems often resulted from inmates flushing things down the toilet and that lights were broken because prisoners used wires to make weapons.
There are always two sides to every story, especially when dealing with incarceration. The inmates who live in East Mississippi and the lawyers defending the prison system at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian each have their own stories to tell.
The re-examination of the prison will better allow U.S. District Judge William Barbour to come to a conclusion in this matter.
The re-examination of the prison will better allow U.S. District Judge William Barbour to come to a conclusion in this matter.
