Mississippi sued in federal court to stop the "horrendous" physicaland sexual abuse of teenage girls

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Mississippi sued in Federal court over child abuse

 

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=10367

 

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a human rights advocacy group, is suing

the State of Mississippi in federal court to stop physical and sexual

abuse of teenaged girls at its Columbia Training School.

 

 

 

The Southern Poverty Law Center today (July 11, 200&) sued the state of

Mississippi in federal court to stop the "horrendous" physical and

sexual abuse of teenage girls at the Columbia Training School, the

state's prison for girls.

 

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of

Mississippi, also seeks to force the state to provide federally required

mental health and rehabilitative treatment to girls confined at Columbia.

 

 

 

The suit was filed on behalf of six girls ranging in age from 13 to 17.

All suffer from mental illness and all were committed to Columbia for

non-violent offenses. Most are victims of past physical or sexual abuse.

 

 

 

"Our state must stop sponsoring child abuse," said Sheila Bedi, director

of the SPLC's Mississippi Youth Justice Project, based in Jackson, Miss.

"Girls at Columbia Training School not only are being routinely abused,

humiliated and injured, they are being denied the most basic services

that the law requires.

 

 

 

"We filed this lawsuit reluctantly after several failed attempts to

negotiate with the state. We would much rather see the state's resources

go toward caring for our children than defending the indefensible."

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

The lawsuit alleges that:

 

 

 

In an apparent response to unsubstantiated allegations that they planned

to escape, five of the plaintiffs were shackled for 12 hours a day for

periods ranging from eight days to approximately a month. They were

required to eat, attend school, use the bathroom, participate in

recreational activities and visit with their families while wearing

shackles around their ankles. This punitive shackling, which violated

Columbia policies, caused excruciating pain and injuries, but their

complaints were not heeded.

 

 

 

One girl was sexually assaulted by a male employee of the facility who

kissed and fondled her against her will 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 the other sliced

her wrists on the edge of her concrete bunk.

 

 

 

 

 

The Columbia Training School has a long history of abusing and failing

to care for children in its care. A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

investigation in 2003 revealed shocking conditions at Columbia and

Oakley Training School, which houses boys. The abuses included

pole-shackling, hog-tying with chains and physical assault by guards.

Children with disabilities were routinely denied the mental health,

educational and rehabilitative services to which they were entitled.

 

 

 

The state settled a DOJ lawsuit with a consent decree in 2005, but a

court-appointed monitor has issued six quarterly reports that document a

long list of failures to comply with the settlement. In the most recent

report, the monitor noted that reforms have stalled and expressed grave

concerns about inadequate health care and suicide prevention.

 

 

 

"It is clear that the state of Mississippi has not taken the steps

necessary to transform the Columbia Training School into a facility that

can help troubled teenage girls turn their lives around and be

productive members of society," Bedi said.

 

 

 

Most of the girls at Columbia suffer from mental disorders or

disabilities. And more than six in 10 were sent there for non-violent

offenses such as shoplifting, running away, disorderly conduct and other

minor offenses. Most could be treated far more effectively