Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson released the following statement about the Department of Justice’s announcement to investigate the conditions of four Mississippi prisons.
“I commend the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division decision to open an investigation into the conditions of confinement in four of Mississippi’s prisons,” Thompson said. “The Mississippi prison system is in a state of acute and undeniable crises. For years there has been an abundance of advocacy and political pressure to correct the discrepancies. However, those pressures have yielded no positive change in the conditions and operations of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. I encourage individuals with relevant information to contact the Department of Justice at (833)591-0288 or community.msdoc@usdoj.gov.”
The investigation will examine conditions at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman), Southern Mississippi Correctional Institute, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. It 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. A copy of the Department of Justice’s announcement can be found here.
Congressman Bennie Thompson Press Release
2/6/2020
