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Tag: mississippi news

  • Fifth Inmate Killed In More Violence In Mississippi Prisons

    Fifth Inmate Killed In More Violence In Mississippi Prisons

    A fifth inmate has died violently in a Mississippi prison, raising further questions about security as clashes between prisoners continue.

    Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton told local news outlets that 36-year-old Dennoris Howell was stabbed to death before dawn Friday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Howell is the fifth inmate to be killed by another inmate since Sunday, and the third at Parchman.

    Burton and Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood have described the violence as related to a dispute between members of gangs, but officials with the Mississippi Department of Corrections haven’t said what’s driving the violence. All state prisons statewide are locked down, confining inmates to cells and blocking visitors.

    Another inmate was stabbed in the 3 a.m. Friday incident and taken to a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital. He was not identified.

    The stabbing took place on the same unit at Parchman where a 32-year-old inmate was stabbed and killed Thursday in a fracas that left multiple prisoners injured. That incident brought a heavy police response, with state troopers, corrections officers and deputies from multiple counties responding. Inmates set another unit at Parchman on fire. Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Simmons Fisher said the fire caused no structural damage. Inmates were evacuated and later moved back in, Fisher said.

    Howell was convicted of manslaughter in Marshall County in 2012 and sentenced to 17 years in prison. The troubles began Sunday at South Mississippi Correctional Institution near Leakesville, when inmate Terradance Dobbins, 40, was killed and two others hurt. Prison officials said the killing was part of a “major disturbance.” The Greene County prison can pose particular difficulties to secure because hundreds of prisoners are housed in bunks in one large room, instead of in individual cells. The prison was locked down for almost all of 2019, in part because of guard shortages.

    Mississippi’s prison system has struggled to fill guard vacancies, with outgoing Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall saying it’s difficult to attract people with salaries that start below $25,000 a year. Some of the guards that do get hired end up bringing illegal drugs and cell phones into prisons, with some being criminally prosecuted. Hall announced Tuesday that she will resign in mid-January to take a private sector job signaling incoming Gov. Tate Reeves won’t retain her upon taking office Jan. 14.

    Tuesday at Parchman, 25-year-old inmate Walter Gates was stabbed and several other inmates were injured during a fight that spread to multiple units of the sprawling prison, which sits on thousands of acres in the Mississippi Delta.

    Earlier Friday, before the killing at Parchman, 26-year-old prisoner Gregory Emary of Hernando was killed at the Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility, a county-run jail that holds state inmates. The violence came even as U.S. District Judge William Barbour ruled Tuesday that while conditions may have previously been poor at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian, there’s no longer any evidence that the privately run prison is violating inmates’ rights.

    By JEFF AMY
    Associated Press

  • Mississippi grand jury clears officer in fatal shooting

    PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi grand jury has cleared a police officer in the fatal shooting of a felony suspect.

    News outlets report a Jackson County Grand Jury on Tuesday found no criminal conduct on behalf of a Moss Point police officer in the Aug. 8 death of Toussaint Diamon Sims. The police department has not released the officer’s name.

    The grand jury said in their report that they “engaged in a full and deliberate consideration of all the facts and circumstances surrounding” the shooting. They also noted that Sims was wanted on three felony and three misdemeanor charges, was running from police and had a “firearm with an extended magazine in his hands.”

    Sims led police on a chase from Pascagoula into Moss Point before he ditched the vehicle and ran. Moss Point Police Chief Brandon Ashley says during the foot pursuit, Sims displayed a firearm in a threatening manner, causing the officer to fire his weapon.

    “I never had any doubt as I saw the video,” said Calvin Taylor, the officer’s attorney. “I have great confidence in grand juries.”

    Footage from the body cam video showed a weapon found next to Sims after the shooting was a Taurus 9mm with an extended clip capable of firing 30 rounds of ammunition. The gun’s chamber also was loaded.

    Taylor said early-on that his client’s actions were justified.

    Brian Dunn, the chief attorney for the Sims’ family, said Sim’s family “is disappointed by the grand jury’s determination that the officer’s conduct did not rise to the level of criminal wrongdoing when he shot and killed him.”

    “We will continue our pursuit of justice for the family which will include a civil lawsuit against the officer and Moss Point Police Department,” Dunn said. “Now that the grand jury process has concluded, we are hopeful that the body camera video at the center of this case will be released to the public. The community deserves to see for themselves the clear evidence in this case.”

    Ashley called what happened “a tragic event.”

    “I have confidence that the investigation was thorough and complete on behalf of MBI,” Ashley said Tuesday, adding that “the District Attorney’s Office presented every witness available who came forward.”

    “I want to commend the community for having patience to allow this case to come to a resolution,” he continued. “It was a tragic event for all parties involved, but I knew from the beginning our officer acted in a justifiable manner in accordance with state law and Moss Point Police Department policy.”