Justice Department finds problems with violence, gangs and poor conditions in 3 Mississippi prisons

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Gangs, violence and sexual assaults are a problem in three Mississippi prisons because the facilities are short-staffed and inmates are sometimes left unsupervised, the Department of Justice said in a report Wednesday.

The department said the state failed to protect inmates’ safety, control contraband or investigate harm and misconduct.

“These basic safety failures and the poor living conditions inside the facilities promote violence, including sexual assault,” the department said. “Gangs operate in the void left by staff and use violence to control people and traffic contraband.”

The department investigated Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, South Mississippi Correctional Institution and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. The new report says the conditions in those three prisons are similar to problems that the department reported in 2022 at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Louisiana moves closer to final passage of tough-on-crime bills that could overhaul justice system </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> What’s life like for Russia’s political prisoners? Isolation, poor food and arbitrary punishment </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Supporters of Brazil’s Bolsonaro stage huge demonstration to defend him amid investigations </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

“People do not surrender their constitutional rights at the