Class Action Lawsuits: Mississippi Kids Abused

Agenda Area(s): Children at Risk


J.H., et al. v. Hinds County, Miss.
Date Filed: 06/01/2011

Hinds County, which operates Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center in Jackson, violated the constitutional rights of children by subjecting them to prolonged periods of isolation and sensory deprivation, denying them mental health services, and subjecting them to verbal abuse and threats of physical harm. The SPLC and Disability Rights Mississippi filed the class action lawsuit after numerous attempts to resolve the issues with county officials failed.
----------------------------------------------------Disability Rights Mississippi v. Forrest County, Miss.
Date Filed: 03/07/2011

The Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center in Mississippi was the site of numerous abuse allegations. Video footage from the facility showed youths being slammed into walls and beaten by staffers. When Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) attempted to provide the youths with services to protect them from further abuse, Forrest County officials prevented DRMS from having access to the youths. The Southern Poverty Law Center and DRMS sued the county to force it to comply with federal law and allow DRMS access to the children.
-----------------------------------------------------J.A., et al. v. Barbour, et al.

Date Filed: 07/11/2007
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit on behalf of mentally ill girls living at the Columbia Training School who were shackled, physically and sexually abused, and provided with inadequate mental health treatment.
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>> UPDATE

SPLC Wins Access to Youths at Abusive Mississippi Detention Facility
07/26/2011
The Southern Poverty Law Center and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) have won access to youths held at the abusive Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center in Jackson, Miss. A federal judge ruled Monday that facility officials can no longer block lawyers and advocates from meeting with detained children and teens.
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Federal Lawsuit Reveals Inhumane Conditions at For-Profit Youth Prison
11/16/2010

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.
----------------------------------------------------Abuses outlined in the report included pole-shackling, hog-tying with chains and physical assault by guards. During military exercises, children were sprayed with chemicals to make it more difficult for them to breathe and forced to eat their own vomit if they became sick after hours of exertion and heat exposure.

( http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-works-to-improve-mississippi-juvenile-justice )