Former jailer: Gaston knew about abuse and didn't stop it

By ROBIN FITZGERALD - SUN HERALD

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HATTIESBURG -- Former Harrison County jailer Morgan Lee Thompson today testified that the captain in charge of booking knew that officers were abusing inmates and did nothing to stop it. He was referring to James Ricky "Rick" Gaston who is on trial in federal court along with Ryan Michael Teel in a jailhouse abuse case.

Thompson said Capt. Steve Campbell, who was in charge of professional standards, was given some reports of inmate incidents but Campbell never spoke to him about those incidents.

Thompson's testimony came after Regina Rhodes, another former booking officer, gave incriminating testimony against Teel and Gaston.

Rhodes and Thompson both admitted using excessive force and implicated other officers; Thompson even said patrol officers would abuse inmates.

The Sun Herald posts continuous updates from Hattiesburg throughout the day at sunherald.com, with full roundups in the next day's paper.