Mississippi
Mississippi county responds to federal seizure of jail
JACKSON, Miss (AP) — Officers in Mississippi’s most populous county stated they have been weighing authorized choices after a federal choose seized management of a neighborhood jail that noticed the deaths of seven detainees final yr.
In a joint information launch, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Tyree Jones bristled on the appointment of a “receiver” to briefly handle the Raymond Detention Middle in Raymond.
“Whereas we respect the Court docket’s choice, we’re dissatisfied in it,” the officers stated. “A receiver is an unelected official who’s wholly unaccountable to the folks of Hinds County.”
U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Decide Carlton Reeves on July 29 positioned the jail into receivership, citing “severely poor” situations on the facility. Reeves stated that issues with supervision and staffing led to “a surprising array of assaults, in addition to deaths.” Seven folks died final yr whereas detained on the jail, he stated.
Jones and the present board of supervisors stated they inherited the ability’s points once they got here into workplace. Additionally they stated earlier boards had ignored the jail’s wants.
The board stated it has spent some $3.2 million renovating the ability and cited work underway to construct a brand new jail within the county.
Reeves wrote in his choice that the ability’s staffing ranges are “notably egregious.” The board and Jones stated present financial situations are guilty for his or her staffing woes.
“The present Board has raised employees salaries twice, however employees numbers have continued to drop,” officers stated within the information launch. “Hinds County and the State of Mississippi are at file low unemployment numbers and nearly all employers, private and non-private, are having extreme issues hiring enough employees.”
Reeves’ ruling got here after he agreed to reduce the county’s jail 2016 consent decree with the federal authorities to deal with “unconstitutional situations” at Raymond and two different amenities that comprise the Hinds County jail system. The small print governing the receivership will likely be determined by Reeves.
The county officers stated they’d resolve how they’d reply to the court docket’s choice within the upcoming days.