Justice Department launches probe into deadly conditions at four Mississippi prisons

A month after deadly riots, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division had announced it is launching an investigation into four Mississippi prisons.

Prison, Prison Reform, Mississippi NewsKatherine MitchellFebruary 5, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi prisons, prison reform, mississippi department of corrections, mississippi news, Parchman, Prison gangs, Mississippi State Penitentiary, Mississippi Governor, Tate Reeves, Prison Riot

Anatomy of a Disaster

State leaders and lawmakers oversaw the gutting of the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ budget by $215 million over the past six years.

And now they must oversee the future of funding Mississippi’s prisons, one of which is imploding.

Prison, Prison Reform, Mississippi NewsKatherine MitchellFebruary 3, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi prisons, prison reform, mississippi department of corrections, mississippi news, Parchman, Prison gangs, Mississippi State Penitentiary, Mississippi Governor, Tate Reeves, Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, Prison Riot

Justice Department investigating Mississippi prisons

Confronted by horrific conditions and in the wake of recent uprisings inside Mississippi’s prisons that have left five dead, the Justice Department, in coordination with state authorities, has launched criminal and civil investigations with a look at possible charges, the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting has learned.

Prison, Prison Reform, Mississippi NewsKatherine MitchellJanuary 17, 2020Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingmississippi prisons, prison reform, mississippi department of corrections, mississippi news, Parchman, Mississippi department of health, Prison gangs, Mississippi State Penitentiary

Lawmakers refused to increase an infamous prison's funding. Then, chaos erupted.

One prisoner strangled another to death while other inmates cheered the killing. Two convicts escaped a dilapidated building by walking out an open door. Maximum-security detainees freely roamed hallways, beating and threatening others.

Prison, Prison Reform, Mississippi NewsKatherine MitchellJanuary 8, 2020prison violence, Locked Down, mississippi prisons, SMCI, Prison gangs, prison reform, mississippi department of corrections, mississippi news, Parchman, Mississippi State Penitentiary, Convicts escaped, Prison murder

Inside the prison where inmates set each other on fire and gangs have more power than guards

LEAKESVILLE, Miss. — Jeffery Wilemon clutched his gut, throbbing in pain as he lay on his bed inside the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in April. But there was no way for him to cry out — not unless he wanted another beating.

Prison, Prison ReformKatherine MitchellAugust 19, 2019prison violence, Locked Down, mississippi prisons, SMCI, Prison gangs, prison reform, mississippi department of corrections

Gang-control allegations at Wilkinson prison mirrored in East Mississippi lawsuit

A November audit that concluded officials at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility had ceded control to gang leaders mirrors litigation against another privately run Mississippi prison where gangs allegedly were controlling the prison’s housing units and inmates were doing their own cell counts.

Prison, Prison ReformKatherine MitchellJuly 15, 2019Prison gangs, Private prisons, Wilkinson, East Mississippi Correctional Facility, EMCF, prison deaths, prison weapons, Southern Poverty Law Center, Correctional Officers, overcrowding in prisons, prison staffing, prison violence, mississippi center for investigative reporting

Wilkinson County prison in Mississippi put gangs in charge

It was a prison brimming with violence, awash in weapons -- and severely short on guards to patrol its cell blocks.

Prison Reform, PrisonKatherine MitchellJune 26, 2019Private prisons, Prison weapons, Southern Poverty Law Center, Correctional Officers, Prison Understaffing, Prison gangs, prison violence, overcrowding in prisons, prison staffing, mississippi prisons, wilkinson country prison, mississippi center for investigative reporting