JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Local activists pushing for prison reform got a boost this week after a report from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ condemned the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) for violations of basic human rights at three prisons.

The four-year investigation into the facilities, including the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), revealed inadequate supervision, uncontrolled flow of contraband, and a failure to fix poor living conditions.

Founded in 2015, Clergy for Prison Reform’s goal is to provide faith-based services and amplify the voices of families whose loved ones are incarcerated.

“In 2015, and a little bit thereafter, the legislation that was passed began to reduce incarceration rates and later the Department of Justice and others, it also went into Walnut Grove, another facility, and basically shut it down because of its conditions,” said Dr. C.J. Rhodes, the founder of Clergy for Prison Reform.

Activists are still pushing for change.

“They’re 60 pages short. That’s my takeaway. They got 60, but they missed 60 more plus 60 more plus 60 more. It is that bad. Make no mistake about it,” said Pauline Rogers, executive director of the R.E.C.H. Foundation.

According to Prison Policy Initiative, the state of Mississippi locks up a higher percentage of its people than any democratic country in the world.