It’s time to put up with Raymond or shut up. US District Judge Carlton Reeves issued a cause of demonstration order against the Hinds County Sheriff yesterday. Judge Reeves gave Hinds County 21 days to explain why it shouldn’t deposit the prison. The court decided that:
Within 21 days, Hinds County will give reason and explain why it should not be done illegally and why a ward should not be established to operate the RDC. A hearing will be scheduled shortly.
Judge Reeves said the prison has steadily deteriorated under past and present leadership:
It’s 2021. Much has changed in the world, in the United States, in the State of Mississippi, and even in Hinds County. Not so for RDC. The unconstitutional conditions have not been fixed – in fact, there is no end in sight. And the County’s failure to improve conditions has caused “unnecessary suffering and death…”, including six deaths so far this year.
The order cites several conditions that contribute to the current dire situation:
* Six prisoners died this year. Judge Reeves said the problem was exacerbated by “there is no end in sight”. (P.18)
* RDC severely understaffed. The Sheriff has only 229 employees for “a prison system that requires 318 employees.” The monitor has been referring to the problem of understaffing for years. There has been little improvement in staffing at the prison, as it’s roughly the same number of employees JJ reported a few years ago. About 2 years ago, the court ruled that the prison had less than half of the workers it needed. Monitor said:
C-Pod housing units are routinely left unattended. As a result, the number of attacks and fires, as well as the amount of contraband found during shakedowns, is high in the A-Pod as well as in the C-Pod, where the staffing is so low that sometimes the only officer there is on duty. in the control room. Prisoners destroy repairs almost as quickly as they are made.
* Fire, fire, fire. You read that right. There is no fire alarm system and sprinkler system in the residential areas of the prison. This reporter personally observed a design flaw in the prison regarding fire safety. There is a fire hose attached to the wall as it should be in the common areas of each compartment. However, there is no drainage on the floors. So if the inmates manage to control the fire hose, they fill the area with a few inches of water. You can’t make up for it.
The court reported that the fires were plaguing the Raymond Detention Center. Prisoners are constantly making fire, including one episode where three people were fired in an hour because no officers were present. (P. 19) Judge Reeves said the county had “not taken any meaningful action” to resolve the issue.
* Locks not working. JJ first reported about 10 years ago that the locks were not working. Despite repairs and replacements, the locks still do not work. Reported on October 27, the monitor reported that the cell doors were not locked. Manual locks are placed on the outside of the cell, so an officer must open the door when entering the cell to avoid the risk of being locked in the cell. Many doors do not lock at all.
* It seems that some inmates are training to get the Jackson garbage contract. Judge Reeves said some cells are now “trash cans.” County-sourced damage cells shut them down instead of repairing them. Prisoners littered these cells for broken glass. After the district became aware of the problem, the number of garbage cells increased to 30. Only some cells were fixed while the majority remained closed due to welds and collecting more garbage.
* Drugs continue to increase in Raymond. The Observer reported that almost half of inmates in a residential district had cell phones, shanks, cash and drugs.
* Prisoners continue to run the prison:
Risks continued in the most recent monitoring period. The Lieutenant in charge of reservations and classification reported that some detainees are “developing their own system of committees where they choose who is admitted to their unit.” In particular, the A-Pod was described as “unmanageable”. * Negligence of duty: In a disturbing incident, the control room attendants of A-Pod and C-Pod left their assigned duties. Control rooms were unattended. The detainees “easily[n] over control rooms and release[d] The entire inmate population of the RDC.” It is unclear whether the detainees will regain control of a capsule, or when or when they will release everyone held at the RDC. The Romans executed soldiers who left their posts.
* Innocents stay locked up. Prisoners who are acquitted or whose charges are dropped are not released.
Emir caught Sharif going from torpedo to bomb. It’s certainly no coincidence that Judge Reeves made the decision on election day. Confirmation of the selection will take several days. Will the Interim Sheriff run the clock or will he give effective control of his office to the Sheriff – choosing him so he can respond appropriately to the court order? Sheriff’s lawyer resigned on 1 November. Attorney Rayford Chambers replaced Sheriff Crisler.
Judge Reeves’ finger is on the trigger and he wants to shoot it.
Stay tuned.