Cruel as Usual Mississippi Death Row conditions persist

[corporatewhore]

Rat-infested cells, feces-flooded cellblocks, the screams of psychotic inmates and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees are among the worst of the punishments that Mississippi Death Row prisoners have endured. But despite a federal judge’s ruling that the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) was violating the Eighth Amendment by inflicting “cruel and unusual punishment” on its Death Row inmates held at Parchman Correctional Facility, the state has refused to improve the conditions, choosing instead to appeal the judge’s decision on legal technicalities concerning the right of prisoners to choose their own attorneys.

In his May 21, 2003, decision U.S. Magistrate Jerry A. Davis wrote, “No one in a civilized society should be forced to live under conditions that force exposure to another person’s bodily wastes. No matter how heinous the crime committed, there is no excuse for such living conditions.”

The judge ordered the MDOC to make 10 improvements, including better plumbing, lighting and insect control by July 7, 2003. In addition he said the department should make fans, ice water, and showers available to inmates if temperatures exceed 90 degrees. Since Judge Davis’s ruling, the MDOC has changed psychiatric care providers and vowed to attend to minor improvements such as installing window screens to protect inmates from insects and vermin. However, according to the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Amy Fettig, “No real or lasting changes have been made.”

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[rumguy]

1. I doubt Missisippi even has the money to change those conditions...

They are so broke. One of the poorest state governments in the country. The rethugs have run that state into the ground.

[Gman]

2. Don't forget that these Repugs love Jesus

and they're doing his work. They just know Jesus would appove of these conditions.