Justice Department Finds Conditions at Mississippi State Penitentiary Violate the Constitution

The Justice Division concluded at the moment, based mostly upon a radical investigation, that there’s affordable trigger to consider that circumstances and practices on the Mississippi State Penitentiary (also called Parchman) violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Structure. Assistant Lawyer Normal Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Lawyer Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi and U.S. Lawyer Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi made the announcement.

Particularly, the division concluded that there’s affordable trigger to consider Mississippi routinely violates the constitutional rights of individuals incarcerated at Parchman by:

• failing to supply enough psychological well being remedy to folks with severe psychological well being wants;
• failing to take ample suicide prevention measures to guard folks liable to self-harm;
• subjecting folks to extended isolation in solitary confinement in egregious circumstances that place their bodily and psychological well being at substantial danger of great hurt; and
• failing to guard incarcerated folks from violence by the hands of different incarcerated folks.

As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Individuals Act (CRIPA), the Justice Division supplied the state of Mississippi with written discover of the supporting info for these findings and the minimal remedial measures crucial to handle them in a complete 59-page findings letter.  

“The Structure ensures that every one folks incarcerated in jails and prisons are handled humanely, that affordable measures are taken to maintain them secure, and that they obtain crucial psychological well being care, remedy, and companies to handle their wants,” stated Assistant Lawyer Normal Clarke. “Our investigation uncovered proof of systemic violations which have generated a violent and unsafe surroundings for folks incarcerated at Parchman. We’re dedicated to taking motion that can guarantee the security of all folks held at Parchman and different state jail amenities. We sit up for working with state officers to institute complete reforms.”

“Prisons have a constitutional obligation to maintain secure the incarcerated individuals who depend upon them for his or her primary wants,” stated U.S. Lawyer Joyner. “Mississippi violated the rights of individuals incarcerated at Parchman by failing to maintain them secure from bodily violence and for failing to supply constitutionally enough psychological well being care and that individuals confined to Parchman expertise severe bodily and psychological hurt consequently. Our workplace is devoted to defending the civil rights of all our district’s residents, together with those that are incarcerated. We sit up for persevering with to work with the Mississippi Division of Corrections to guard the civil rights of these incarcerated at Parchman.”

“The motion taken at the moment by the Division of Justice will be certain that the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman fulfills its constitutional obligations,” stated U.S. Lawyer LaMarca. “These obligations lengthen to affordable efforts to supply primary psychological well being care, forestall violence between incarcerated individuals and stop suicides. Those that owe a debt to society ought to have these primary wants whereas paying that debt. We’re dedicated to working with state officers to make sure that the State of Mississippi abides by its constitutional obligations.”

The division’s investigation started in February 2020. Our investigation of circumstances at Southern Mississippi Correctional Establishment, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility is ongoing. People with related info are inspired to contact the division by cellphone at (833) 591-0288, or by e-mail at Group.MSDoc@usdoj.gov.

For extra details about the Civil Rights Division and the Particular Litigation Part, please go to https://www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section.

Extra details about the Northern and Southern U.S. Attorneys’ Workplaces is offered at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndms and https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms. You possibly can contact the Northern District’s Civil Division at (662) 234-3318, and the Southern District at (601) 965-4480. You too can report civil rights violations to the Part by finishing the criticism kind accessible at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.