News reports of chaotic conditions in Miss. prisons spark bipartisan call for reform

Top Mississippi officials called for a review of the state’s increasingly troubled prison system, following stories by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica that documented chaotic conditions in the state prisons.

Prison Reform, PrisonKatherine MitchellSeptember 6, 2019mississippi center for investigative reporting, SMCI, prison reform, mississippi prisons

Justice Department Said Alabama Prisons are so bad they violate protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Prisons in Mississippi may be even worse.

Mississippi has saved a lot of money on its prisons over the past several years. But as the experiences of next-door neighbor Alabama show, rampant violence and understaffing can eventually draw scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department, with potentially costly consequences.

Prison, Prison ReformKatherine MitchellAugust 20, 2019Alabama Prisons, mississippi prisons, mississippi department of corrections, mississippi center for investigative reporting, FAMM, Prison

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

Trump Hailed This State’s Prison Reforms as a National Model — but the Numbers Reflect a Grim Reality

When Mississippi lawmakers passed prison reform legislation in 2014, they pledged to devote some of the savings to drug rehabilitation, reentry programs and prison alternatives. That hasn’t happened.

Prison, Prison ReformKatherine MitchellMay 8, 2019Mississippi Center for Investigative Reportingprison, prison reform, prison reform bill, what is prison reform, mississippi department of corrections, first step act

Years Ago, I Exposed Horrors In Mississippi Prisons. Here’s Why I’m Back at It.

What began as a call from an inmate turned into a years-long effort to chronicle corruption, gangs, violence and maltreatment inside Mississippi prisons.

Prison, Prison ReformKatherine MitchellMay 8, 2019prison, prison reform bill, prison reform, what is prison reform, prison reform bill passed, federal prison reform