Mississippi must fix ‘foul-tasting, smelly’ water at Parchman, groups say. Corrections head responds: Water is ‘absent’ of bacteria.

Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman inmates drink foul-tasting, smelly, and potentially contaminated water, say the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Resources Defense Council.

Mississippi News, News, Prison Reform, PrisonJerry MitchellSeptember 10, 2021Mississippi inmates, Burl Cain, Parchman, Mississippi Corrections Commissioner, drinking water, Parchman water, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Resources Defense Council, MDOC, SPLC

Facing slashed budgets, desperate prison officials look to religious volunteers for programs that states refuse to fund, expert says

In the wake of states slashing prison spending by billions, desperate corrections officials are throwing a Hail Mary.

Mississippi News, News, Prison Reform, PrisonJerry MitchellMay 25, 2021Mississippi inmates, Burl Cain, Angola, Parchman, Mississippi Corrections Commissioner, MDOC, seminaries, Ruth Graham, Prison ministry, religious volunteers, Leavell College

Burl Cain remade Angola prison in his own image. Can he do the same with notorious Parchman?

Burl Cain burnished his reputation as a reformer inside the walls of one of the nation’s bloodiest prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola where stabbings, beatings and killings were commonplace.

Mississippi News, News, Prison Reform, PrisonKatherine MitchellMarch 17, 2021Mississippi inmates, Burl Cain, Angola, Parchman, Mississippi Corrections Commissioner, MDOC, prison conditions, seminaries, prison chaplains

Current COVID testing inside Mississippi prisons ‘inadequate and dangerous,’ lawyer says

Far more inmates inside Mississippi prisons have COVID-19 than are being detected, new reports suggest.