Feds: Conditions at Parchman violate inmates’ constitutional rights – National & International News – WED 20Apr2022

DOJ finds “severe, systemic” problems at Parchman. UK judge orders Assange’s extradition to US. Ukrainian defenders “facing last days, if not hours” in Mariupol.

NATIONAL NEWS

DOJ finds “severe, systemic” problems at Parchman

Over two years ago, a spate of suicides and killings at Parchman and other Mississippi prisons drew national attention. Today, the Department of Justice released a damning review of conditions and practices at Parchman. The review states that the prison’s failures in violence and suicide prevention, lack of mental health care and over reliance on solitary confinement as a punishment amount to violations of inmates’ constitutional rights.

The report finds that, “The problems at Parchman are severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision”. Furthermore, it stated that the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC)”has been on notice of these deficiencies for years and failed to take reasonable measures to address the violations, due in part to non-functional accountability or quality assurance measures”. The report concludes that MDOC’s “deliberate indifference has resulted in serious harm and a substantial risk of serious harm” to Parchman’s inmates.

Since 2019, there have been 10 homicides and 12 suicides among Parchman’s inmates. Over 150 Parchman inmates filed a lawsuit in 2020. The suit alleged that the prison provided inadequate medical and mental health care and fed inmates contaminated food. Inmates also claimed prison officials had retaliated against them for speaking with their attorneys.

Representatives from the DOJ say the agency will be working with state officials to work on solutions. DOJ investigations of three other Mississippi prisons are still in progress.

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UK judge OKs Assange’s extradition to US

A British judge has signed off on an order to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges in the US. The order will now go to Priti Patel, Britain’s Minister of the Interior, for approval. However, Assange’s legal team still has avenues to appeal the decision. Attorneys representing Assange have previously said they would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights once British appeals were exhausted.

A UK district judge temporarily blocked Assange’s extradition last year for humanitarian reasons. In her ruling, Judge Vanessa Baraitser raised concerns that Assange may succeed in committing suicide in US custody. US attorneys have since successfully appealed to overrule those concerns, assuring that Assange would not face the most severe forms of confinement. They also claimed that Assange’s term if convicted on all charges would be at most 5-6 years, rather than the total 170 years his charges carry cumulatively.

Assange faces dozens of espionage and hacking-related charges due to Wikileaks’ 2010 publications that revealed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Ukrainian Mariupol defenders “facing last days, if not hours”

As Russian forces regroup to mount a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, they’re attempting to bring about a swift and brutal end to Ukrainian resistance in the southern city of Mariupol. Mariupol has endured some of the most intense fighting and shelling anywhere in the country. While many of its citizens have managed to flee, thousands remain trapped. Much of the city has been without water, electricity and adequate food for weeks.

Russian attempts to stamp out the last of the city’s resistance are focusing on a steel mill. There, defenders and civilians alike have sought shelter and prepared for what many of them believe will be a last stand. A local Ukrainian commander says his forces are “maybe facing our last days, if not hours”. Russian forces have demanded that the city’s defenders surrender or face annihilation.

Ukrainian officials say that tens of thousands of civilians have died in Mariupol since the siege began. After a last minute agreement with Russia, Ukraine is sending 90 busses in hopes of rescuing 6,000 civilians. However, these humanitarian ceasefire agreements have fallen through before. 

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