One Inmate Still Missing, Five Dead Across Mississippi Prisons Allegedly Due To Gang Fights; Twitter Users Claim Guards Are Abusing Inmates And Inciting Riots

One inmate is still at large, and five are reportedly dead after a week of riots at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and other prisons across the state.

David May, 42, and Dillion Williams, 27, were reported as missing on Saturday, one day after the two reportedly escaped. Prison officials did an emergency inmate count around 1:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. But by Sunday, officials revealed that May was captured and taken into custody. Williams has yet to be found.

According to Bossip, prisons have been on lockdown since December 29 after an inmate was killed, and two others were injured in what officials called a “major disturbance” at South Mississippi Correctional Institution. The MDOC issued a statement to families alerting them that visitation, at that time, were canceled for “safety reasons.”

“The Mississippi Department of Corrections continues a statewide lockdown for the safety of the public, staff, and inmates. Therefore, movement of inmates is limited to only emergencies. As a result, there will be no visitation this weekend.”

However, after the statement was issued, there were three deaths at Parchman and one death at Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility, as well as several injuries. Although the incidents have been described as gang wars between the Vice Lords and the Black Gangster Disciples, social media users have been claiming that the violence is at the hands of the guards, and inmates are living in brutal and unsuitable conditions.

One user posted pictures online of what is said to be evidence of the prison’s negligence, including leaking ceilings, black mold, lack of bedding, and contaminated drinking water. The user wrote, “There is a humanitarian crisis in Parchman Prison in Mississippi right now – people are dead and dying, and currently being denied food – and you will not hear a word about it on the news today.”

Another tweet said, “Inmates are being KILLED AT PARCHMAN PRISON IN MISSISSIPPI with the media saying they “escaped” during lockdown(MAX security) the prisoners are living in harsh conditions with leaking ceilings, black mold, erosion & being made to drink CONTAMINATED water while being abused.” Twitter users claim that inmates have been sending photos to their families of the horrendous conditions, begging for help. Some of the claims say that the riots weren’t started on their own but actually by the prison guards. “Inmates at Parchman have been frantically sending their families videos & pictures of the worsening conditions along with dead bodies piling up BEGGING for help. A guard gave keys to a gang to turn off the lights in one building to GO ON A KILLING SPREE,” CrownMeJulz wrote.

Inmates are being KILLED AT PARCHMAN PRISON IN MISSISSIPPI with the media saying they “escaped” during lockdown(MAX security) the prisoners are living in harsh conditions with leaking ceilings, black mold, erosion & being made to drink CONTAMINATED water while being abused pic.twitter.com/6RXkcnMDqE

— ?. (@crownmejulz) January 5, 2020

TW*// BLOOD
Inmates at Parchman have been frantically sending their families videos & pictures of the worsening conditions along with dead bodies piling up BEGGING for help. A guard gave keys to a gang to turn off the lights in one building to GO ON A KILLING SPREE. pic.twitter.com/qHKamRX9RK

— ?. (@crownmejulz) January 5, 2020

However, according to the Washington Post, a federal judge ruled that “previously bad conditions at East Mississippi Correctional Facility had been fixed and that the privately run facility had resolved any constitutional violations that may have existed.” The judgment stemmed from a 2013 legal battle when the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit alleging that prisoners were living in barbaric conditions.

In the meantime, in response to the outrage, Governor Phil Bryant has called the week of violence “tragic” in regards to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. “Inmate needs are being met, and I have ordered the investigations to continue,” Bryant said, according to WAPT. “Someone asked earlier, ‘Who’s responsible for what’s happening at Parchman?’ The inmates — the inmates, are the ones that take each other’s lives. Inmates are the ones that fashion weapons out of metal. The inmates are the ones that do the damage to the very rooms that they are living in. I would say, look to the inmates,” he added.

“We are going to stop it. We have it under control as best we can. Prisons are difficult to manage under the best of circumstances.”