Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Mississippi prison on lockdown after riot; toll rises

By NBC News and wire services

JACKSON, Miss. -- Officials say a prison for illegal immigrants in Mississippi was on lockdown after a riot that began on Sunday left one guard dead and at least 19 people injured.

All inmates were secured in their housing units by 2:45 a.m. Monday, nearly 12 hours after the disturbance began at the Adams County Correctional Center in southwest Mississippi, Mike Machak, a prison spokesman, said in a statement, according to WDSU-TV, an NBC News affiliate in New Orleans.

Officials haven't released the identity of the slain guard.


Machak said 16 other employees were treated and released from a hospital for various injuries. Three inmates were injured.

The 2,567-bed prison near Natchez houses adult male illegal immigrants, most of whom re-entered the U.S. after being deported, Emilee Beach, a prison spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. The facility is owned and operated by Nashville-based Corrections Corp. of America, WDSU-TV reported, which?houses about 75,000 offenders and detainees in more than 60 facilities nationwide.

Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Chris Burke said the facility holds low-security inmates.

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Sunday's riot is not the first time CCA prisons have had disturbances.

In 2004, inmates at another CCA prison in Mississippi, the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility, set fire to mattresses, clothing and a portable toilet. No injuries were reported. The company announced after that disturbance that it would add about 25 guards at the Tallahatchie County facility.

In Idaho, the high level of violence at a CCA-run prison has prompted federal lawsuits, public scrutiny and increased state oversight. In 2010, Vermont inmates being held at a CCA prison in Tennessee were subdued with chemical grenades after refusing to return to their cells.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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