East Mississippi Correctional Facility

East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a men's prison located in unincorporated Lauderdale County, Mississippi, near Meridian. Established in 1999, the special needs prison is intended to care for prisoners with serious mental illness.

It was operated by the for-profit GEO Group on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). In 2012, GEO was forced out of Mississippi state contracts after continuing complaints of substandard medical treatment and squalor, and its settlement that year of a federal suit for its operation of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility. The GEO contract was given to Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah, but the complaints continued.[1][2]

In May 2013 the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center filed a class action suit against the state of Mississippi and operators of EMCF on behalf of its prisoners because of the abuses and the failure to improve conditions. In addition, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) continued its own investigation of corruption in the Mississippi prison system.

In November 2014 Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps resigned a day before he was indicted by the DOJ on corruption charges for bribery and taking kickbacks. He had been commissioner since 2002 of the Department. He was known for reducing the use of solitary confinement in state prisons. Cecil McCrory, a business man and former state legislator, was indicted for bribing Epps in return for having prison-services contracts steered to him and his clients. Fired as a consultant by MTC after the indictments were announced, McCrory had previously worked for GEO Group and Cornell Corrections. By November 2015 both men had pleaded guilty, as had a third. The trial of another former state lawmaker, Irb Benjamin, was scheduled for January 2016.

History

The East Mississippi Correctional Facility Authority authorizes the facility.[3] East Mississippi is the state's main "special needs" facility,[4] housing prisoners with serious mental health issues.[5]

The prison opened in April 1999.[3] In 2010 MDOC and the American Civil Liberties Union agreed to a transfer of mentally ill prisoners in Unit 32 of the Mississippi State Penitentiary to EMCF in an effort to improve conditions for them.[6] GEO Group, the second-largest prison management corporation in the country, was removed as contractor to operate this facility, and replaced by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah.

Class action suit, 2013

Civil rights advocates claimed that conditions at the EMCF did not sufficiently improve under MTC management.[7] In May 2013 the ACLU and the SPLC filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the prisoners at EMCF; it stated "prisoners live in barbaric and horrific conditions and their basic human rights are violated daily."[8][7]

Allegations included:

"rampant rapes. Placing prisoners in solitary confinement for weeks, months or even years at a time, where the only way to get a guard's attention in an emergency is to set a fire. Rat infestations so bad that vermin crawl over prisoners; sometimes, the rats are captured, put on leashes and sold as pets to the most severely mentally ill inmates. Many suicide attempts, some successful. The untreated mentally ill throw feces, scream, start fires, electrocute themselves and self-mutilate. Denying or delaying treatment for infections and even cancer. Stabbings, beatings and other acts of violence. Juveniles being housed with adults, including one 16-year-old who was sexually assaulted by his adult cell mate. Malnourishment and chronic hunger. Officers who deal with prisoners by using physical violence."[9]

Health care can be difficult or impossible for prisoners to access, with documented instances of prisoners who did not receive appropriate care for life-threatening conditions.[10]

Department of Justice investigations

The United States Department of Justice has investigated EMCF as part of an overall investigation and assessment of the Mississippi prison system. It has not issued final findings yet.

Mississippi prison corruption cases

On November 6, 2014 the Federal Government of the United States announced that it had indicted Epps on corruption charges;[11] these charges originated from dealings with the private prison industry.[12] The federal indictment stated that Cecil B. McCrory, a businessperson who served as the chairperson of the Rankin County School District's board of education and who was an ex-state legislator, provided Epps with kickbacks and bribes totaling more than $1 million. His payments included payment of part of the mortgage of Epps' primary residence in the Jackson area, and bribe payments that were used by Epps to buy his first and second condominiums. In exchange, Epps directed contracts to McCory-owned companies for prison-services contracts, as well as to companies that hired McCrory as a paid consultant. According to the indictment the activity started in 2007 and ended on March 12, 2014. Epps entered an initial plea of not guilty, and he received a bond of $25,000.[13]

In November 2014 Governor Phil Bryant ordered rebids of the contracts that had been awarded by Epps.[14]

While investigations proceeded on prison conditions, on November 10, 2014, the press reported that Christopher Epps, former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, who resigned the week before, and Cecil McCrory, a businessman in Jackson and former state legislator, had been indicted on 49 counts in federal court for bribery and kickbacks.[15] Epps was indicted on 35 felony counts for allegedly accepting more than $1 million in bribes as kickbacks from McCrory over a period of six years for steering prison-services contracts to him, and the former legislator was charged on 15 counts.[15]

Management and Training Corporation (MTC) is a for-profit prison management company holding a $60 million contract to operate four prisons in the state, including EMCF. MTC said that Epps recommended McCrory as a consultant on their prison contracts but did not insist on his hire; McCrory charged them a rate of $12,000 per month.[16] They said they had not known of any wrongdoing in his activities.

MTC fired McCrory the week following the announcement of the indictments. McCrory had also served as a consultant to GEO Group, MTC's predecessor, which lost its contract as part of a settlement of a class action suit for its failures at Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility. The indictment says McCrory also consulted for Cornell Companies, GEO's predecessor at WGYCF which was merged with GEO Group in August 2010.[15][16]

On December 12, 2014, MSNBC news also reported on the indictments, discussing the context of the private management of prisons in Mississippi and problems with poor conditions and treatment of prisoners. Jody Owens, attorney and investigator with the Southern Poverty Law Center, who has also worked on the EMCF case, was interviewed on The Docket about these allegations.[17][18]

In February 2015 Epps pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges:[12] one count of filing a false tax return and one count of conspiracy to launder money.[19] As part of the plea, he forfeited two Mercedes Benz vehicles and his two residences.[20]

Cecil McCrory also was indicted and pleaded guilty to reduced federal charges. He had been working as a consultant to Management and Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah, which held a %60 million contract for operation of four prisons in Mississippi. In announcing the firing of McCrory, MTC spokesmen denied they knew anything about his illegal activities.

Epps and McCrory each said the other had initiated the bribery scheme. Both men were scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2015,[19] but on June 8 federal authorities announced that the sentencing was indefinitely delayed. They said they were pursuing additional indictments.[21]

Besides McCrory, two others pleaded guilty to bribing Epps, and another pleaded not guilty.

Harrison County political operative Robert Simmons pleaded guilty to one count of bribery relating to kickbacks he paid to Epps for contracts covering probation services, construction and construction management. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 26, 2016. Simmons was also accused of bribing a Harrison County supervisor for a jail medical contract. Carthage, Mississippi businessman and consultant Sam Waggoner pleaded guilty in August 2015 to one count of bribery after waiving indictment in an agreement with prosecutors. He told federal District Court Judge Henry Travillion Wingate that he paid more than $108,000 in kickbacks to Epps from a consulting contract with prison phone company Global Tel-Link (GTL). GTL had a monopoly on phone business with the state. On November 5, 2015, his sentencing was postponed due to his recovery from heart surgery. Waggoner is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2016. Former state lawmaker Irb Benjamin of Madison, Mississippi pleaded not guilty to bribery charges.[22] He is scheduled for trial July 5, 2016, on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery of Epps for contracts at prison work centers and county jails.[23]

In 2016, Cecil McCrory informed the court that he wanted to change his plea bargain to "not guilty" and requested a trial. As a consequence, the sentencing of Epps was once again been postponed, this time until July 18, 2016. Epps had been scheduled for sentencing on April 11, 2016, after pleading guilty alongside McCrory to money laundering and filing false tax returns related to $1.47 million in bribes prosecutors say he took. He faced a potential 23-year sentence. The judge delayed a decision as prosecutors and defense attorneys argued over the value of his crimes. McCrory faced a 20-year sentence from his plea, agreeing to forfeit $1.7 million in assets. He faces up to 210 years in prison under the original 15-count indictment. One reason for the third delay in sentencing revolves around disputes over how to calculate the monetary value of Epps' crimes. Defense lawyer John Colette said Epps wants credit for the assistance he's provided the government in giving evidence against others. Prosecutors and defense will argue about the value of Epps' crimes at a June 9 hearing. LaMarca told Wingate that prosecutors determined that Epps awarded more than $800 million in potentially dirty contracts over seven years ending in 2014. Those are the overall payments from the state to 15 or more companies, that would have included not only MTC, but GEO Group and the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Both sides agree that the court needs to determine how much benefit the companies received, which is expected to be less than the $800 million. The companies will have to be subpoenaed to testify.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca told Judge Wingate that a grand jury is considering charges against additional people.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Goode, Erica (2014-06-07). "Seeing Squalor and Unconcern in a Mississippi Jail". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  2. ↑ "Mississippi Corrections." Management and Training Corporation. Retrieved on March 23, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Private Prisons." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ "042.jpg." Mississippi Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 18, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Former Local Prison Official Takes Over Mississippi Facility", KWTX. March 31, 2006. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ ""ACLU Strikes Deal To Shutter Notorious Unit 32 At Mississippi State Penitentiary", American Civil Liberties Union, 4 June 2010. Retrieved on July 19, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Erica Goode (June 7, 2014). "Seeing Squalor and Unconcern in a Mississippi Jail", The New York Times, 7 June 2014, Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Gabriel Eber (May 30, 2013). "NEW LAWSUIT: Massive Human Rights Violations at Mississippi Prison", ACLU. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ Filipovic, Jill (2013), "America's private prison system is a national disgrace", The Guardian, retrieved 13 June 2013
  10. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center (2014). "SPLC court filing details barbaric conditions at private prison in Mississippi". SPLC Report 44 (4). Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  11. ↑ Pettus, Emily Wagster. "Epps’ star falls in Miss. after federal indictment", Washington Times (Archive). Washington Times. November 8, 2014. Retrieved on February 27, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Blinder, Alan. "2 Former Mississippi Officials Plead Guilty in a Graft Case Involving Private Prisons." The New York Times. February 25, 2015. Retrieved on February 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ Estwick, Tammy. "Epps pleads not guilty to federal bribery charges" (Archive). WAPT. November 7, 2014. Retrieved on February 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bryant orders prison contracts rebid" (Archive). WAPT. November 7, 2014. Retrieved on February 28, 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 AP, "Private prison operator in Mississippi fires indicted consultant Cecil McCrory", GulfLive.com, 10 November 2014, accessed 30 January 2016
  16. 1 2 Scott Simmons, "MTC Fires McCrory", WAPT, 10 November 2014, accessed 30 January 2016
  17. ↑ "Bribery case hurting Mississippi private prisons". MSNBC - The Docket. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  18. ↑ "SPLC expert discusses bribery allegations involving company running a scandalous private prison in Mississippi". Southern Poverty Law Center. 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  19. 1 2 "FORMER COMMISSIONER OF MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND LOCAL BUSINESSMAN PLEAD GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT" (Archive). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved on February 27, 2015. Version at the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  20. ↑ Mitchell, Jerry and Jimmie E. Gates. "Chris Epps, Cecil McCrory plead guilty to corruption" (Archive). The Clarion-Ledger. February 25, 2015. Retrieved on February 27, 2015.
  21. ↑ Gates, Jimmie E. "Former MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps' sentencing delayed" (Archive). Clarion Ledger. June 8, 2015. Retrieved on June 9, 2015.
  22. ↑ AP, "Sentencing delayed in Mississippi prison contract bribery case", GulfLive.com, 5 November 2015, accessed 30 January 2016
  23. ↑ Epps sentencing delayed; McCrory wants to withdraw plea, The Clarion Ledger, Jerry Mitchell, April 11, 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.

External links

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