MS ‘routinely violates the constitutional rights’ of Parchman inmates, DOJ finds

The Department of Justice announced the findings of an over two-year investigation into conditions and practices at Parchman, the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

According to the DOJ investigation, “Mississippi routinely violates the constitutional rights of people at Parchman.”

The key findings of the investigation found:

• A failure to “provide adequate mental health treatment to people with serious mental health needs.”
• A failure to “take sufficient suicide prevention for people at risk of self-harm.”
• “Subjecting people to prolonged isolation in solitary confinement in egregious conditions that place their physical and mental health at substantial risk of serious harm.”
• A failure “to protect incarcerated people from violence at the hands of other incarcerated people.”

“The Constitution guarantees that all people incarcerated in jails and prisons are treated humanely,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “Our investigation uncovered evidence of systemic violations that have generated a violent and unsafe environment for people incarcerated at Parchman.”

The investigation into Parchman started in February 2020. Additional DOJ investigations into the conditions at Southern Mississippi Correctional Institution, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and Wilkinson County Correctional Facility are ongoing.

Individuals with relevant information to the investigations are asked to contact the department by phone at (833) 591-0288, or by email at Community.MSDoc@usdoj.gov.