The case is being overseen by Carlton Reeves, a federal judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. He ruled that violations against incarcerated individuals’ eighth and 14th constitutional rights warranted a receivership. In the past year, there has been a homicide and overdoses at the detention center, alongside alleged severe understaffing.
Hernandez Stroud is a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
“At this point, the county was either unwilling or unable to improve conditions to eliminate those constitutional violations that were at issue in the case,” he said.
As a result, a receiver was appointed to oversee the detention center. Stroud says having a federal receiver put in place is rare. It’s only happened about 13 times in the U.S.
“I would think Judge Reeves doesn't really want to be involved in this case in this way,” he said. “He would rather not be at the helm of the county jail, but because of those constitutional violations, which is totally the job of a court to address, that's where he finds himself.”
The outcome of this receivership remains unclear, according to Stroud.
“One of the big concerns I have about receiverships is that often the government does not fully commit itself to the gains achieved during the receivership period,” he said. “In other words, a receiver can come in, improve conditions through implementing new policies, through restructuring staff through a variety of different means. Then over time, after the government has regained control, a lot of backsliding can occur.”
Neither the receiver nor their personnel are allowed to make public statements regarding their duties.
MPB News is awaiting comment from the Hinds County Board of Supervisors.
According to reporting from WLBT, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors has approved an emergency declaration for the Hinds County Raymond Detention Center in order to address overcrowding.