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| Corrections officials want credit for improved conditions at Parchman |
| By sunherald.com |
| Published: 12/29/2009 |
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JACKSON — Corrections officials want a federal judge to release the state from an agreement that required changes at the maximum-security unit at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Mississippi entered into a consent decree in April 2006 after the American Civil Liberties filed a federal lawsuit claiming inmates in Unit 32 of the penitentiary were subjected to sweltering heat, unsanitary conditions, biting insects and the rants of psychotic prisoners. Supplemental agreements were reached in 2007 dealing with health care, mental-health care, the use of force and the classification of prisoners. Mississippi Department of Corrections officials have “satisfactorily implemented and complied with the consent decrees for more than two years,” the state said in a motion earlier this month. A hearing is set for Feb. 9 in U.S. District Court in Oxford. The ACLU has filed court motions asking the judge to keep in place those agreements related to inmates’ medical and mental-health care. The ACLU contends in court papers the prison medical staff do not maintain proper records on medications, which could lead to errors in dispensing drugs and diagnosing illnesses. The ACLU also contends inmates with mental disabilities are being segregated in Unit 32 for long periods “in violation of their right to adequate treatment.” Nevertheless, the ACLU said in court documents the state has engaged “in an extraordinary collaborative effort over the past three years to implement these consent decrees and to bring about far-reaching reforms at Unit 32. Their efforts have been remarkably successful.” The unit has about 1,000 inmates, the same level as when the lawsuit was filed, according to court documents. The ACLU claimed many in the restrictive “supermax” conditions “were placed there for arbitrary reasons, or no discernible reason at all.” The lawsuit also claimed security staffing was inadequate. A revenue shortfall has forced Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps to look for ways to cut spending. Epps has said several options were being explored, including taking some inmates out of county and regional jails. He does not yet know how many, but he hopes to save about $3.2 million that way. Read More. |
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