See Parchman prison conditions, which experts consider “unfortunate”
Experts hired to report on conditions at Parchman Farm documented staff shortages, spoiled food, and more. Here’s a closer look at what they found.
Grace Pateras, Wochit
Rights of people with disabilities Mississippi filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday alleging that disabled prisoners in Parchman and other state prisons are suffering from inhumane conditions.
The disability rights group is suing the Mississippi Department of Corrections and state prisons health care provider Vitalcore Health Strategies LLC.
The lawsuit, in which MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain is named as a defendant, identifies grave and barbaric conditions in state prisons that expose prisoners to direct and significant harm.
The allegations range from guards asking inmates to commit suicide to denying them access to toilets and showers, according to the lawsuit. Some inmates did not receive their prescribed medication. Another person using a feeding tube did not receive the supplies necessary to clean their tube. Another detainee was refused a wheelchair despite a severe spinal injury.
“For people with disabilities, incarceration in an MDOC facility can be tantamount to a death sentence,” Polly Tribble, executive director of Disability Rights Mississippi, said in a statement. “The appalling conditions and treatments in MDOC facilities are a human rights crisis.”
Several groups donated masks to prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Disability Rights Mississippi says they found that these masks were never given to anyone in custody. Instead of this, Disability rights Mississippi officials said The MDOC staff used the masks and the perpetrators wore dirty shirts and underwear around their faces.
The non-profit filed the lawsuit after extensive surveillance at three facilities: South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and Mississippi State Penitentiary or Parchman Prison Farm.
CONTINUE READING: Mississippi prisons are notoriously violent and dangerous to inmates.
This is not the first time the State Department of Justice has taken place was charged with poor conditions in his prisons. In January 2020, rappers Jay-Z and Yo Gotti sued the Parchman division for inhuman and unconstitutional conditions. This lawsuit is ongoing.
Lee O. Sanderlin is an investigative and political reporter who covers the state of Mississippi. Do you have a story tip? You can call him at 601-559-3857, email him to [email protected], or message him on Twitter @LeeOSanderlin.
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