The Mississippi Department of Corrections has been under fire for the alarming rate at which inmates are dying in custody. Now the county coroner’s office has announced another inmate died Sunday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, CNN reported. This marks the ninth prisoner to die at the facility, also known as Parchman Prison, since the year started.
According to Heather Burton, the Sunflower County Coroner, Joshua Norman “was found hanging in his cell during a security check at 11:12 am.” She said she didn’t suspect any foul play based on her observations of Norman’s one-man cell, but they are awaiting autopsy results.
Inmate Gabriel Carmen was also found hanging in his cell a week prior to Norman’s death, according to The Associated Press (AP). He was pronounced dead at 7:21 p.m. In a statement, Burton’s office said medical staff tried to save him, but had trouble gaining entry.
“They attempted to enter the cell, but the cell lock was jammed from the inside with a pipe the offender had removed from the toilet. … Maintenance had to respond to assist in opening the cell door,” the statement said.
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Two other inmates who have died in custody at Parchmen are James Talley, 36, and Timothy Hudspeth, 35. Both men were beaten to death, according to CBS News. Other inmates’ causes of death have included violence.
This isn’t the first time Parchman has experienced a rash of inmate deaths in such a short amount of time. In 2019, six inmates died within a month’s time and five prisoners died within a week’s time in Mississippi’s prisons, three at Parchman from Dec. 29 through Jan. 3. Two prisoners also escaped but were captured and returned to custody.
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There has been a call for prison reform in Mississippi overall, with allegations that gangs are running the correctional institutions due to severe under-staffing and poor conditions for inmates.
Despite coroner Burton’s opinion that there was no foul play in the most recent death, others suspect foul play with so many prisoners dying in the state’s prisons. Relatives of prisoners have accused guards of gross mistreatment of inmates and putting them in cells with rivals to spark deadly feuds. Some have filed lawsuits, while others have called for external investigators to be brought in.
On Friday, Jan. 24, protesters marched on Mississippi’s Capitol Hill to demand Parchman be closed.
Jay-Z and Yo Gotti have jumped in to help, filing a federal lawsuit against “the head of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the warden of the state penitentiary,” NBC reported. They have also hired attorneys to represent dozens of inmates.
“We just can’t have people sleeping on the floors, not getting food, not getting water. It’s supposed to be a rehabilitation program, not where people lose their lives,” Yo Gotti told CBS News.
