In 1992, plaintiffs filed a class action suit against Jones County and several officers and board members of the Jones County Jail in the district court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

In May of 1993, the U.S. Department of Justice notified Jones County, Mississippi of its intention to investigate conditions of the county jail. In June of 1993, following the investigation, the DOJ notified the President of the Jones County Board of Supervisors of its findings and made recommendations regarding new jail construction; sanitation; medical and mental healthcare; security staff and supervision; crowding; exercise; fire safety; suicide prevention; access to a law library. In September of 1993, the Attorney General intervened in plaintiffs' case against Jones County and filed an action under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. section 1997 et seq., against the jail. Shortly thereafter, the district court (Judge Charles W. Pickering) approved a consent decree. The consent decree laid out steps the county must take to improve issues discussed in the DOJ's letter of findings and recommendations. According to the docket from PACER, the county submitted status reports to the court until the end of 1994, and in 1996, the court granted defendants' motion to dismiss.

Lauren Cutson - 05/25/2005


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