Lawsuit Seeks to End Abuse of Girls in Mississippi Reform
School
July 11, 2007—Troubled teenage girls in a state-run reform school in
Mississippi have suffered “horrendous” physical and sexual abuse,
according to a lawsuit filed in federal court today. The complaint asks
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 suffer from mental illnesses and all were committed to Columbia
for non-violent offenses. Most are victims of past physical or sexual abuse.
The lawsuit alleges 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.
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Media contact: Lee Carty, leec@bazelon.org,
202-467-5730 ext 121
Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
1101 15th Street, NW, Suite
1212
Washington, DC 20005
