Department of Justice launches civil rights investigation into Mississippi prisons

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced Wednesday it is launching an investigation into Mississippi prisons.

The announcement comes a month after deadly riots and a statewide prison lockdown thrust Mississippi into the national spotlight and brought renewed scrutiny into the state's long-troubled prison system. 

According to a Department of Justice release, investigators will look into conditions at the three state prisons — Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl — and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, which is operated by private company Management & Training Corporation.

"The investigation will focus on whether the Mississippi Department of Corrections adequately protects prisoners from physical harm at the hands of other prisoners at the four prisons, as well as whether there is adequate suicide prevention, including adequate mental health care and appropriate use of isolation, at Parchman," the release said.

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A MDOC spokeswoman declined to comment on the investigation.

Death toll continues to rise

A killing at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution on Dec. 29 marked the beginning of a string of violent deaths at prisons across the state. Within a week, five inmates were dead and dozens more wounded.

MDOC has said some of the violence was gang related, and advocates say the deadly fights were the result of years of underfunding the prison system, which has led to chronic staffing shortages, deplorable living conditions and deteriorating structures.

The death toll continues to rise. Since Dec. 29, 15 people have died while in MDOC custody, including some who authorities say died of apparent hangings or natural causes.

Earlier this year U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson and nearly a dozen civil rights and social justice organizations sent a letter to the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division requesting an investigation into Mississippi prisons. They claimed state leaders are "deliberately and systematically" subjecting inmates to risk of serious harm because, despite years of warnings from inside and outside MDOC, lawmakers have refused to implement reforms and better fund the prison system.

The 23-page letter includes detailed accounts of deaths and reported dysfunction in Mississippi prisons, including an incident where a prisoner doused another with gasoline, then set the man on fire.

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Officials and advocates welcome investigation

Last month, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced plans to "right the ship" at MDOC by appointing an interim commissioner and launching a nationwide search for a new permanent leader for the prison system.

Reeves also announced changes to "stop the bleeding" in prisons," including assigning an agent to Parchman to investigate criminal activity by corrections staff and inmates, relocating prisoners and deploying a system to block signals from contraband cell phones. He said he plans to close Parchman Unit 29, where much of the recent violence has taken place.

Spokeswoman for the governor, Renae Eze, said in an email Reeves' office is "grateful" for the federal investigation.

“We are grateful that President Trump’s administration has taken a focused interest in criminal justice reform and that they care enough about Mississippi to engage on this critical issue. As we continue our own investigations, we look forward to cooperating with them and working together to right this ship. We welcome them to this mission. More people working together to solve it will be better than just a few," Eze said.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement that she has visited Parchman and spoken with officials from the Department of Justice about next steps.

"I will work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice in their investigation and I am committed to ensuring safety and justice for all parties," Fitch said.

MDOC officials are being sued by Parchman inmates who are represented by lawyers working with hip-hop stars Yo Gotti and Jay-Z's organization, Team Roc. The lawsuit alleges the conditions inside prisons amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

In a statement, Yo Gotti said Wednesday the lawsuit will continue "util we receive tangible commitments to shut these prisons down and move inmates to safer facilities."

Lisa Graybill, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, called on lawmakers to reduce the prison population.

"Mississippi’s prisons have a brutal history rooted in slavery and convict leasing, and it is time for the federal government to step in and do what the Mississippi Department of Corrections has failed to: end the violence and ensure humane living conditions," Graybill's statement said. "Dozens have died and hundred of others live in squalid conditions with standing sewage in freezing temperatures as a result of  the Mississippi's neglect.  Mississippi’s prisons are overcrowded, understaffed, and aren’t safe for anyone."

Melissa Garriga, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Prison Reform Coalition, an organization formed by several activist groups after the recent outbreak of deadly riots, also expressed support.

"We are encouraged to hear the decision made by the DOJ to investigate our state prisons," Garriga said in an email. "We hope the investigation is thorough; leaving no stone unturned. As we have stated multiple times, the current situation in Mississippi’s prisons is not new and was not created in a vacuum. The problems are systemic and a direct result of elected state officials underfunding MDOC, enforcing mass incarceration and extreme punitive measures, and their overall neglect of underserved, marginalized communities across the state.”

Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Center, said it's up to Mississippi to tackle prison reform.

“DOJ’s decision to undertake a formal investigation of prison conditions in Mississippi confirms the gravity of this crisis," Johnson said. "While we are pleased that DOJ lawyers and investigators will join us in this effort, Mississippi must take ultimate responsibility for solving its own problems and end the decades-long reality that civil rights atrocities in Mississippi are only taken seriously when people from D.C. and elsewhere descend on our state.”

The U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi are helping with the investigation, the release said.

People with relevant information can contact the Department of Justice at 1-833-591-0288 or by email at Community.MSDoc@usdoj.gov.

Contact Alissa Zhu at azhu@gannett.com. Follow @AlissaZhu on Twitter.