Mississippi Governor Wants To Shut Down 'Notorious' Prison Unit For Inmate Deaths, 'Terrible' Living Conditions

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced his office will take steps to shut down a unit at a Mississippi State Penitentiary where nine inmates have died in the last month.

The new governor spoke about the Parchman prison and its string of deaths during his state of the state speech on Monday.

“All Mississippians must be able to trust that the people in charge of the system are acting with competence to keep them safe,” Reeves said. “We must be able to trust that the corrections officers operating these prisons have the tools that they need to do their jobs and that they are compensated fairly.”

Joshua Norman, 26, was the latest death reported from Parchman after guards found his body hanging in his cell in Unit 29 on Sunday. It was days after the body of Thomas Lee, 49, was found dead in his cell in Unit 29 on Wednesday, also reportedly from hanging.

Unit 29 is a “notorious” unit at Parchman that houses various inmates, including those on death row. It is made up of a dozen buildings, three of which have already been closed.

Reeves had recently toured Parchman with other Mississippi officials and described the conditions as “terrible.” The problems found included missing soap dispensers, stopped-up garbage disposal, broken sinks and toilets, moldy coolers and showers, and food with no expiration date.

“The problems were infuriating, there is no excuse,” Reeves said. “We can do better.”

Department of Health environmental administrator Rayford Horton also spoke about these problems in a June report about the state of Parchman.

Tommy Taylor, interim commissioner of the Department of Corrections, said work is already underway to improve the conditions at Parchman after Reeves’ speech. He revealed Unit 29 inmates now have access to clean drinking water, warm water for showers, and been supplied new, clean clothes. Crews are also working to repair toilets and holes responsible for leaking, along with electrical and heating systems.

“We're preparing to make it more livable as long as they've got to stay there while we're making this transition,” Taylor said.

Reeves said closed prisons might be reopened to use as temporary housing for Parchman inmates if needed until all the problems have been addressed.