Marshall County Correctional Facility, Holly Springs, Mississippi
April 3, 2019
Prisoners at a privately run facility in Mississippi attacked a guard and set fires inside the facility. The injured guard was airlifted to a hospital with a traumatic head injury. In footage of the incident captured on prisoner cell phones during the disturbance, one prisoner can be heard yelling “They don’t give a fuck about us, they only give a fuck about their own, they don’t give a fuck about us.”
The facility is managed by Management and Training Corporation (MTC), a for-profit company that contracts with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The guard was released from the hospital the following morning. At that time the prison was still on lockdown. For at least a few days following the incident, neither MTC nor the Mississippi Department of Corrections responded to media requests for a statement. One former worker who still lives near the facility described her time employed by MTC, saying “They were always shorthanded” and that “they had most people in there working like a dog”.
On April 8th, 5 days after the assault, the MDOC tweeted out support for pending legislation to allow jamming of cellphones on prison grounds.
In January of 2019, amidst ongoing lockdowns, the commissioner of the Department of Corrections said that the state prison system is a “pressure cooker” situation because of the 671 unfilled jobs in security.
Citations:
“Marshall Co. prison guard attacked by inmate, hospitalized with head injury“, WMC Action News 5, April 3, 2019.
“Marshall Co. prison guard released from hospital after attack by inmate“, WMC Action News 5, April 4, 2019.
“Cellphone video shows aftermath of attack on Marshall County prison guard“, WMC Action News 5, April 5, 2019.
“MDOC responds to video of prison guard attack at correctional facility“, WMC Action News 5, April 8, 2019.
“Guard Released From Hospital After Being Injured During Riot In Mississippi Prison“, Local Memphis, April 4, 2019.
Background:
“MS prisons ‘a pressure cooker,’ MDOC commissioner warns. Staff shortage leads to lockdown.“, The Clarion Ledger, January 27, 2019.
