HINDS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Court resumed on Tuesday, February 22 to determine whether or not the Hinds County Detention Center’s long standing consent decree should be terminated.
One of the witnesses to take the stand was Jim Moser, a Department of Justice Jail Monitor. He began his testimony on Friday, February 18. In his role, he reviews juvenile observation logs at the Henley Young Juvenile Justice Center. He said Hinds County is struggling to meet the requirements of the consent decree. He added that the decree is a very clear blueprint for what needs to be done to ensure a detainee’s safety.
Lead Jail Monitor Elizabeth Simpson also took the witness stand. She said, based on her own findings, that gangs run the jail and different living pods. She said “inmate committees” decide who can live there or who has to go.
She added that, in her observation, the housing unit is not in compliance with the consent decree.