Juvenile Detention in Mississippi
In Mississippi, over 70% of the youth behind bars are accused of non-violent offenses like shoplifting, disorderly conduct or school-related offenses. Children as young as ten years old have been locked up for a school-yard fight or for misbehaving at home. Most of the youths held at the facility haven't been found guilty of any crime and are awaiting court hearings.
Children held at the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center in Biloxi endured squalid conditions and physical and mental abuse. They were confined to unsanitary jail cells for 23 hours a day. Some cells were overcrowded, requiring children to sleep on the floor on thin mattresses. There have also been cases of shackling and assaults by staff.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class action lawsuit that resulted in a settlement agreement to protect children and teens detained at the center from abuse and neglect.
During the spring of 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center brought professional musicians and several of the youths together to record songs from behind the walls of the detention center.
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