U.S. Attorney Greg Davis issued the following statement.
Justice Department REACHES SETTLEMENT TO REFORM CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today reached a landmark settlement agreement to reform the criminal justice system in Hinds County, Mississippi. The agreement resolves the department’s findings that the Hinds County Adult Detention Center and the Jackson City Detention Center – which together form the Hinds County Jail – failed to protect prisoners from violence and excessive force and held them past their court-ordered release dates, in violation of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA).
The settlement agreement is the first of its kind to incorporate broader criminal justice system reform through diversion at the front end and reentry to the community after incarceration. It creates a criminal justice coordinating committee that will help ensure the county’s systems operate effectively and efficiently, develop interventions to divert individuals in appropriate cases from arrest, detention and incarceration, and engage in community outreach. To promote successful reentry, the agreement includes mechanisms for notifying community health providers when a person with serious mental illness is released to help the person transition safely back to the community. The agreement also addresses unlawful enforcement of court-ordered fines and fees by ensuring that the county cannot incarcerate an individual for non-payment if the court does not first assess whether the individual is indigent.
“Across the board, this settlement will make the Hinds County criminal justice system smarter and fairer,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “If implemented, these reforms will make pretrial detainees, prisoners, corrections staff and the entire community safer, while also ensuring that vulnerable individuals get access to the treatment, care and community services they need and deserve. We commend the county for its commitment to making these reforms a reality.”
“For too long, the conditions in the Jail have posed a serious challenge to law enforcement and the safety of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis of the Southern District of Mississippi. “I appreciate the commitment made by Hinds County officials to turn the page and begin making necessary reforms.”
The settlement agreement – subject to approval by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi – requires the county to implement a series of reforms across various stages of the criminal justice system, including the following:
· Limit the use of segregation and improve access to screening, treatment and community-based services for special needs prisoners, including juveniles and prisoners with serious mental illness;
· Improve mental health and youth services, including better integration of jail operations with local community mental health and youth programs;
· Enhance communication and coordination among different agencies involved with the criminal justice process; and
· Ensure compliance with due process liberty protections as prisoners navigate the criminal justice system.
Together these reforms aim to improve communication and coordination among criminal justice entities and community service providers to help individuals with mental illness transition back to the community and to reduce recidivism. If approved by the federal district court, an independent monitor will be appointed to assess the county’s compliance.
In May 2015, the Justice Department completed a comprehensive investigation – which included on-site inspections, document reviews and stakeholder interviews by department experts and staff – and issued a findings letter that determined that Hinds County Adult Detention Center and the Jackson City Detention Center violated CRIPA by failing to protect prisoners from violence by other prisoners and from improper use of force by staff. The department also found that inadequate staffing and training, a backlog in record filing and a lack of centralized information resulted in prisoners being held beyond court-ordered release dates.
6 comments:
There's the explanation! Those two that escaped today are just making sure they aren't held past their release date. Don't be faultin' a playa for being proactive!
Cool. This will require only sixteen additional degreed staff members, two Special Implementation and Oversight Team Members, one Oversight Director who will report directly to the Governor and training and implementation training seminars out the wazoo for three or four years.
And, as with the schools in Mississippi, Justice and Civil Rights oversight will continue for at least twenty years. Not to mention everlasting revolving-door visitation and inspection by the ACLU and others.
The Jackson DA was only trying to help, one criminal at a time. For some reason people got pissed at him. Can't even help out the prisoners without some one complaining.
The mess in Hinds continues to be sorted out for the good.
5:18 for the good of WHO? define good?
I have added my two cents on a number of postings here.
I will repeat once again the "justice" system is as "just" as the amount of money your bank account reflects or where and who you grow up around (Taylortown for instance). There is no difference underneath in the stokes', RSS, Bennie's, assistant DA, Hood's, many judges', many lawyers of this world and the thugs in west and south Jackson areas.
The outward difference is in their attire.
Saw the precursors of this in the late 70's when I was looking to hire on with JPD. The consent decrees in effect made it evident that the CJ system was headed down hill. These oversights and imposed standards may be a good thing but the County and City are still on a downward slide that has no indication of stopping and certainly not in a desirable fashion. The values and beliefs of those in control 50 years ago may not have been just but I can't help but to wonder comparatively are things today for the community as a whole and even for every individual better. Maybe all are the same except for their outward appearance today.
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