Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in Jackson
Date Filed: July 11, 2007
Status: Closed
Plaintiffs:
J.A., L.R., R.B., T.D., L.H, on behalf of themselves and all other persons similarly situated, H.D., S.G., M.S., E.S., S.W., and the Mississippi Protection and Advocacy Systems, Inc.
Defendants:
Governor Haley Barbour, in his official capacity; Donald Taylor, in his official capacity as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services; L. Donald Armagost in his official and individual capacities as the administrator of Columbia Training School; Richard James, in his official and individual capacities as Assistant Administrator of Columbia Training School; Kathy Pittman, in her official capacity as Director of the Division of Youth Services; Mr. Alexander in his official and individual capacities as a Columbia Training School Security Officer.
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Troubled teenage girls in a state-run reform school in Mississippi suffered “horrendous” physical and sexual abuse, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on July 11, 2007. The complaint asked the court to require the state to provide federally required mental health and rehabilitative treatment to girls confined in the Columbia Training School.
The Bazelon Center joined the Mississippi Youth Justice Project (MYJP), a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Robert B. McDuff, a civil rights attorney in Jackson, in filing the lawsuit on behalf of six girls ranging in age from 13 to 17. All suffered from mental illnesses and all were committed to Columbia for non-violent offenses. Most were victims of past physical or sexual abuse.
The lawsuit alleged that:
- In an apparent response to unsubstantiated allegations that they planned to escape, five of the plaintiffs were shackled around their ankles for 12 hours a day for periods ranging from eight days to a month. They had to eat, attend school, use the bathroom, participate in recreational activities and visit with their families while wearing the painful shackles.
- One girl was sexually assaulted by a male employee of the facility while she was confined in a segregated area. She reported the assault but was never informed of the results of an investigation and never received counseling to help her deal with the trauma.
- Three of the girls cut themselves while on suicide watch. None of them received any psychological help during their isolation. No attempt was made to stabilize their moods, and staff members failed to perform periodic checks to ensure their safety. One girl was placed in a cell alone for 14 hours, during which time she carved the words “HATE ME” into her forearm. One sliced her wrists with glass, and another sliced her wrists on the edge of her concrete bunk.
Most of the girls at Columbia suffer from mental disorders. And more than half were sent there for nonviolent offenses such as shoplifting, running away, disorderly conduct and other minor offenses. Most could be treated far more effectively – at half the cost – in community-based programs that focus on rehabilitation and mental health treatment. The state spends $5 million a year to house an average of 60 girls at Columbia.
Mississippi Protection and Advocacy Inc., a congressionally authorized nonprofit organization that enforces the civil rights of people with disabilities, is also a plaintiff in the suit.