Death at EMCF questionable at best!

On or about July 29, 2010 in Housing Unit 5 at the psychiatric prision in Meridian MS, a mentally ill prisoner, who was housed in the long-term segregation area of the prison allegedly refused to allow a guard to close the tray-slot on his cell door. Prison officials sprayed an entire can of immobilizing gas into the cell, then closed the tray-slot. This effectively trapped the gas inside the cell and deprived the prisoner of oxygen. Prison officials left the prisoner in this condition until he was "found" not breathing. Their is video footage of this inncident according to Miss. Code Ann.93-3-19, this constitutes murder.
Warden Caskey and Grimes habitually engage in, promote and condone excessive use of force upon mentally ill prisoners housed in EMFC. When prisoners accert their constitutional rights or file complaints, the administration retaliates against them with physical assaults, forced injections of psychotropic medications placement in isolation for months and some cases years and the lists go on.
Warden Caskey has recently gone on record with the Meridian Star Newspaper and made comments regarding prisoners having nothing to do except engage in criminal behavior. Lets look at a factual example of Caskeys and Grimes' idea of prison managment. The prisoners on HOusing Unit 1 are confined to their zones continuously 24 hours a day, without penological justification. They are not allowed to go to the facility kitchen. To eat their meals the food is brought to the zones on top of an open, unsanitary trash cart. The food always cold, the portions are so inadequate that prisoners who were once healthy look emaciated now. This is in large part due to the kitchen.
Prisoners on Unit 1 are not allowed to utilize the gym or weight-room with the facility they are not allowed to go on the grass area of the outside yard for exercise periods. Those prisoners are not provided or offered any positive out-lets by the very same Warden Caskey who enjoys making comments about the negative actions of prisoners, while promoting those same said acts. The same can be said for Warden Grimes.
Per capita, EMFC has had more homicides,suicides, unexplained deaths, stabbings, assaults and other violent acts than any other prison in the state of Mississippi. Review the records over the previous decade.Why is this? It isn't because of contraband. It is because GEO Group refuses to replace incompetent, corrupt administrators such as Caskey and Grimes. An in-depth investigation will show that MDOC Deputy Commissoner Emmitt Sparkman has a personal history of abusing prisoners. Said history spans several states. Research his conduct at the LTI youth prison in LA. Sparkman also has a history with Grimes.
A resonable person would believe that there is a conflict of intrest in allowing Sparkman, as a state employee, to be involved in any capacity with a private prison whom he once worked for, that now has a contract with the state of Miss., Whom he now works for.
It is past time to investigate and take corrective action against MDOC and EMFC for the Nepostism and corruption within the upper echlons of both.

Once again EMCF officials have resorted to the group punishment of all the offenders by locking the entire prison down in two man cells for an incident that was isolated and happened on one unit. The practice of double-celling in and of itself...
should be unconstitutional. At least one Federal Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to double-cell mentally ill prisoners. EMCF is an establised psychiatric facility. The current act of forcing prisoners into two man cells have repeatedly lead to assualts and deaths. Living conditions at Unit 32 at the Mississippi State penitentiary that were deemed unconstitutional according to the Presley vs Epps Supplement Consent Decree are the same conditions prisoners are being subjected to at EMCF. Why are tax payers constently having to pay for the deliberate indifference of prison officials whom obviously believe they are above the scope of the law? An online petition will be set up in the near future, requesting that Governor Barbour replace the Comissioner and Deputy Comissioner of MDOC due to their mismanagement of the prison system as it is clearly evident, and the fact that there is not an established form of forced compliance with MDOC policies and standing court mandates When said prisons house MDOC prisoners, whose care is paid by the tax payers of this state. More than 2 million dollars was spent to raise electric fences around units 17 and 27 a couple months later both units were condemned. How many more millions of dollars were invested in Unit 32? And now its closing its doors amid constitutional deprivations. The same deprived enviornment and mentally created by prison officials in Parchman then, is the misuse and abuse of authority now existing now in EMCF. Why hasnt ACLU forced compliance with the Presley vs Epps Mandate????

PRISONERS RIGHTS

While those detained in prisons or jails do not typically have the same civil rights as free citizens, they are still protected under certain federal and states laws. Violations of prisoner rights commonly go undetected, unreported, and unpunished because those behind bars are often unaware of their legal rights.

Prisoner rights are generally guaranteed by the 8th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment states that incarcerated persons are not to be subjected to “cruel and unusual punishment.” However, there are several constitutional protections that an imprisoned individual loses. One notable right that is revoked for incarcerated persons is the protection against unwarranted searches and seizures.

Violation of Prisoner Rights

Imprisonment is a part of the rehabilitative process and is not intended to pose any harm to a convicted criminal. Unfortunately, however, many prisoners suffer injury or death behind bars. Massacres, violent protests, prisoner on prisoner abuse, and violent guard behavior all occur frequently in prisons throughout the country despite the fact that these institutions are legally required to prevent such occurrences. Because of the lack of information about prisoner rights violations, not much has been done to rectify the problem.

Constitutional Rights

Prisoner rights mirror constitutional rights in that they require institutions to provide their inmates with a minimum standard level of treatment. Prisoners do not lose their constitutional rights to due process, appeals, and parole when they are incarcerated. Prisoner rights also protect individuals against discrimination, abuse, or other mistreatment on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin. Prisoner rights also include the freedom of speech and religion.

Certain state inmates have limited rights. People who are classified as “detainees” are not officially prisoners. This means they may not have the same rights as federal prisoners.

Prisoner rights are usually determined by the facility and particular state of incarceration. A court may decide to enforce certain constitutional guarantees, but typically, the court does not involve itself in such matters. In many cases, prisoners have rights they are unaware of and cannot exercise because of their situations.

If you or a loved one is incarcerated and has suffered a violation of prisoner rights, contact an experienced prisoner rights attorney today for a complimentary consultation. Many times, only experienced lawyers can create a change or remuneration for a prisoner rights violation. Being incarcerated does not mean that your rights no longer exist, or that you are powerless to defend them.

Inhuman treatment and living conditions.

Prisoners being treated just as inhumanly as they were in Parchman. I am concerned in knowing what happened with the courts decision in the Presley v. Epps 4:05-cv-148-JAD case, that would allow ACLU free access to EMCF to ensure that things occurring within EMFC right now would not happen. That prisoners previously housed in unit 32 in Parchman would not be subjected to the same abuse and mistreatment as they were subjected to in Parchman and are now being subjected to @ EMCF.

Due to a single inmates action all prisoners at EMCF are being subjected to lockdown conditons. Including but not limited to no showers, no yard call being confined 24 hours a day in a two man cell. With many of these patients being mental patients now mixed in with other inmates.Further more the prisoners are being fed cheese sandwiches 3 times a day. True these are prisoners what have broke the law in one way or another but that is them serving their debt to society in the manner the judicial system deemed suitable. So many times people wonder why prisoners released generally end back in the system, grant it some just live their lives that way and will never change, but being caged up like an animal with treatment unjust for an animal gives them no direction in their life to change.