The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center argue the conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility are unconstitutionally abusive. Photo courtesy Mississippi Department of Corrections
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Closing arguments are set in a federal trial in which inmates say they live in unsanitary and excessively violent conditions in a Mississippi prison.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center argue the conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility are unconstitutionally abusive. The state's lawyers say the prison conditions are acceptable, and many of the prisoners' problems are self-inflicted.
Closing arguments are expected Monday.
The state prison is operated privately under a contract with the Utah-based Management and Training Corps.
Inmates have testified to U.S. District Judge William Barbour Jr. that they live in poor conditions with inadequate health care.
Warden Frank Shaw has testified that the prison followed state and company protocol and the facility has no worse conditions than other correctional facilities.
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