Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

These are excerpts from a U.S. Justice Department report on two Mississippi 'training schools' for 'delinquent youth' issued earlier this year. Not that it matters, but the children locked up in these torture chambers had been arrested for such offenses as repeatedly running away from abusive homes and committing non-violent offenses like petty property theft. None of the reports mention, of course, that the vast majority of these children are black.

Excerpts from CRIP Investigation
by Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., Assistant U. S. Attorney General
submitted to Mississippi Governor

We observed a 13-year old boy sitting in a restraint chair. This boy had been severely sexually and physically abused by family members and had been in several psychiatric hospitals. He had been locked naked in his empty cell.

His cell smelled of urine, and we observed torn pieces of toilet paper on the concrete floor that he had been using as a pillow.

Oakley and Columbia do not have any system of positive incentives to manage youth, but instead rely on discipline and force. This leads to unconstitutionally abusive disciplinary practices such as hog-tying, pole-shackling, improper use and overuse of restraints and isolation, staff assaulting youth, and OC spray abuse.

Pepper spray was used for punishment when young people showed suicidal behavior or did not exercise or perform military drills.

Incident reports reflect that youth are sprayed arbitrarily. OC spray is used regularly for minor infractions or for punishment.

A suicidal girl was sprayed because she refused to remove her clothes before being placed in the "dark room."... boys are sprayed in the face while they were hog-tied. 

One girl was sprayed after she complained of the heat and had trouble keeping up with a group during exercise on a parade field.

Suicidal youth are sprayed for their suicidal gestures and behaviors and that youth locked in isolation rooms who bang on the door of their cell are sprayed.

A 13-year-old boy was sprayed because he did not perform exercises. He was punished further by being forced to do 100 squat thrusts, 100 push ups, and 100 jumping jacks.

Suicidal youth are isolated in SIUs in stripped cells, sometimes naked, are not allowed outdoor exercise, and receive very little schooling or counseling...

Children's mattresses are taken away during the day, leaving them with the option of lying or sitting on concrete or standing.

A June 2002 log book entry shows that a facility manager punished a girl by requiring her to sleep one hour and walk one hour for two successive nights. This same girl also had to eat every meal standing for one week thereafter.

In the evenings, youth are required to sit in silence for large blocks of time...

One girl says she was put in a dark room for three days and her requests for water went largely unheeded.

Girls are punished in the military field by being forced to run with automobile tires around their bodies or carrying logs.

Girls reported being forced to eat their own vomit if they throw-up while exercising in the hot sun.

Staff reportedly have hit, choked, and slapped girls. For instance, girls reported that a ten-year-old girl was slapped by a male security guard.

Youth who are re-committed are taken to one of the isolation rooms in the intake area and punched and slapped by staff as punishment for being re-committed.

A young boy in the boys' SIU reported that before being taken to the SIU, security slapped him twice in the face and placed his neck in a "sleeper hold."

Youth told us that in order to be placed in a sleeper hold, a security officer stands behind a youth with his arm around the neck of the youth, cutting off the ability to breathe.

Youth are awakened in the middle of the night, required to get dressed, and walk inside the cottage for hours with their hands to their heads

They fail to provide most special education services and fail to properly screen for youth who may be in need of such services.

They house a large population of juveniles who suffer from mental disorders, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

If a youth appears before the Committee and testifies to something other than what the staff attests to, the youth is typically given added time or punishment.

Staff stated that some staff abused youth with impunity because they were favored by the administration. When asked why staff did not report these allegations, most staff responded that they feared retaliation.

One youth stated that a staff person had shoved his head into a toilet. The youth wanted to know how the administration would respond to complaints. One administrative official responded that youth were not allowed to defend themselves against staff who assaulted them.

Columbia and Oakley do not have adequate dental programs. The only services that were provided were extractions.

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