Federal Lawsuit Reveals Inhumane Conditions at For Profit Youth Prison
Youth at Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility Suffering Brutal Conditions, Horrific Physical Abuse and Denials of Educational and Medical Services
November 16, 2010
The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and
Jackson, MS civil rights attorney Robert B. McDuff today filed a
federal class-action lawsuit against the for-profit operators of
Mississippi's Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF), charging that
the children there are forced to live in barbaric and unconstitutional
conditions and are subjected to excessive uses of force by prison staff.
Among the named defendants in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of all the teenagers
and young men in the facility, are the Walnut Grove Correctional Authority and
the Geo Group, Inc., the second largest private prison company in the country.
The facility houses youth between the ages of 13 and 22 who have been tried and
convicted as adults.
“The Mississippi legislature established WGYCF with the hope that the young men
housed there would be provided a second chance,” said Sheila Bedi, Deputy Legal
Director of the SPLC. “Unfortunately, private prison companies prioritized their
profits over the well being of Mississippi’s youth. As a result, the young men
imprisoned in this facility endure unspeakable abuses at a tremendous cost to
Mississippi’s taxpayers.”
The lawsuit describes a facility well known for its culture of violence and
corruption –a culture that is perpetuated by WGYCF’s incompetent management.
Some prison staff exploit youth by selling drugs inside the facility. Other
staff members abuse their power by engaging in sexual relationships with the
youth in their care. Many youth have suffered serious and permanent physical
injuries as a result of the WGYCF’s deficient security policies and violent
staff members. Youth who are handcuffed and defenseless are kicked, punched and
beaten all over their bodies. Youth secure in their cells are blinded with
chemical restraints.
The private entities that operate WGYCF are paid based on the number of youth
housed at WGYCF, which was constructed with over $41 million of taxpayer funding
and opened its doors in 2001. Since then, the Mississippi legislature has
tripled the size of the facility, leading to significantly increased profits for
Geo Group.
The facility houses youth who have been tried and convicted in the adult
criminal justice system. More than two-thirds of the youth currently housed at
WGYCF are incarcerated for non-violent offenses.
“Our nation has been on a binge of mass over-incarceration -- and it’s a symptom
of that syndrome when lawmakers decide to send kids as young as 13 into the
adult criminal justice system,” said Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the
ACLU National Prison Project. “It ratchets up the likelihood of bad outcomes
when the law commits kids to prisons run by profit-driven corporations, because
skimping on basic supervision to squeeze out more profit leads to suicides,
rapes and beatings.”
According to the lawsuit, as a result of the unlawful conditions at WGYCF, youth
suffer serious harm that can result in life threatening injuries. One young man
was tied to his bunk for almost 24 hours, brutally raped and sexually assaulted
after prison staff failed to heed his pleas for protection. Other youth suffered
multiple stabbings and beatings—including one youth who will live with permanent
brain damage as a result of an attack in which prison staff were entirely
complicit.
According to Michael Mcintosh, father of a youth involved in the lawsuit and a
founder of Friends and Family of Youth Incarcerated at Walnut Grove, a coalition
of individuals who advocate for WGYCF youth, “Our children’s lives shouldn’t be
at risk because corporations cut corners in order to increase their profits.
This abuse must end immediately and the youth at Walnut Grove should be moved to
juvenile justice facilities that can provide for their care.”