A federal investigation into prison conditions following riots in January 2020 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman determined the Mississippi Department of Corrections violates prisoners’ civil rights by not providing adequate mental health services and protecting inmates from physical harm, federal officials said Wednesday.
“The Justice Department concluded today, based upon a thorough investigation, that there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions and practices at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (also known as Parchman) violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” the department said in a news release.
The announcement was made in a media call by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division and Mississippi U.S. Attorneys Clay Joyner and Darren LaMarca.
DOJ officials said there is cause to believe Mississippi routinely violates the constitutional rights of people incarcerated at Parchman by:
- Failing to provide adequate mental health treatment to people with serious mental health needs
- Failing to take sufficient suicide prevention measures to protect people at risk of self-harm
- Subjecting people to prolonged isolation in solitary confinement in egregious conditions that place their physical and mental health at substantial risk of serious harm
- Failing to protect incarcerated people from violence at the hands of other incarcerated people.
A 59-page report outlines the Department of Justice’s complete findings from its investigation of the prison.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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