Judge issues contempt order over county jail in Mississippi

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has issued a civil contempt order over jail conditions in Mississippi’s largest county. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves says Hinds County officials have failed to fix problems in a jail plagued by violence and lax security. The U.S. Justice Department sued the county in 2016. It cited numerous problems in the Raymond detention center, including cell doors that would not lock and low staffing levels. Supervisors agreed in 2016 and again in 2020 to fix the problems. Reeves says conditions got worse in 2021. Sheriff Tyree Jones took office in late 2021. He says he’d dedicated to preventing death and injuries in the jail.