Austin wrote that he was inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman to interview inmates Friday when the incident occurred. “At approximately 2:00 p.m., I heard a Mississippi State Trooper tell the Unit 29 lobby Correctional Officer that he had just ‘cut one down,’” Austin wrote. The Associated Press on Saturday sent questions about the inmate’s condition to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. At least 14 inmates have died in Mississippi prisons since late December, most of them at Parchman. Violence is a recurring problem in Mississippi prisons, where many jobs for guards are unfilled.

Source: Washington Post February 02, 2020 01:52 UTC