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.

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.

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.