One inmate is dead and six others injured following a riot Wednesday evening at Delta Correctional Facility.
The state-owned, privately run prison remained on lockdown this morning.
The fight began at about 6:35 p.m. Wednesday inside a housing pod as inmates returned from supper, according to a press release from the prison’s operator, Corrections Corp. of America.
CCA said staff responded immediately, and the incident ended quickly. Facility medical staff provided medical assessment and treatment for injured inmates until MedStat arrived.
However, one inmate was pronounced dead at the scene. His name is not being released until relatives are notified.
Five inmates were taken by ambulance or helicopter to hospitals for treatment of various injuries, according to CCA. One additional inmate was treated on site, and there were no injuries to staff, the press release said.
Family members gathered outside Greenwood Leflore Hospital Wednesday night to try to find out if their relatives were among the wounded. A large contingent of Greenwood police officers guarded the emergency room entrance.
A police car also blocked the front entrance to the prison at about 9:30 p.m.
Details about the riot — including its cause and how the inmate was killed — had not been released this morning.
Officials with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and local law enforcement have been notified and are on site, according to CCA. The company said it’s working with them to investigate the incident and will release further details later.
An MDOC spokesperson said the incident is under investigation.
CCA contracts with the state to run the 1,172-bed, medium-security prison. It also operates the Leflore County Jail, which is on the same property but is fenced off in different buildings.
Sheriff Ricky Banks said this morning that the riot didn’t affect the county jail, other than that it is also on lockdown, preventing trusties from being sent out to work.
All inmates are restricted to their housing areas with only escorted movement allowed in the facility, CCA said. No one’s allowed to go into the facility, Banks said.
This is not the first sign of trouble at Delta Correctional.
Wayne Self, president of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors, said in March that he had serious concerns about security there. Those worries had been prompted in part by anonymous letters from disgruntled CCA employees about security issues and the workplace environment.
The facility also suffered a black eye following the high-profile escape of an inmate from a Greenwood optometrist’s appointment in June 2009. Joseph Jackson Jr. later shot a Nashville police officer, which he pleaded guilty to in Tennessee. He’s now awaiting trial in Leflore County for the escape, along with his cousin.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
