Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Sheriff Lee Vance oversees Hinds County Detention Centers, which are facing a COVID-19 outbreak. Many detainees are awaiting delayed trials. File Photo by Seyma Bayram
Twelve inmates and seven employees across Hinds County detention facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, Sheriff Lee Vance told the press last night.
Public Information Officer Captain Tyree Jones emailed a press statement late June 16, announcing that 230 detainees (of 361 total) and 80 employees voluntarily got the test between June 11 and 12.
"The testing was conducted in collaboration with officials from the Mississippi Department of Health at the discretion of the detainee and the employee," the statement said. "On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the results were published."
Authorities isolated detainees, most of whom are awaiting often-delayed trials for periods up to several years, who have tested positive from others, and placed infected staff members on paid leave, pending physicians clearing their return to work.
"All detainees are currently being housed at the Raymond Detention Facility and the Work Center in Raymond," the statement adds. Jones said today that the two facilities are housing 361 detainees, 224 them at the Raymond facility and 137 at the Work Center.
On June 1, the office released a statement about one inmate at the Raymond Detention Center testing positive for the virus after falling ill a few days earlier. This prompted the move to test all the inmates.
The Jackson Free Press has reported since March on delayed and spotty efforts to protect detainees inside Hinds County facilities. On March 17, the JFP reported that 432 adult inmates were currently incarcerated inside three Hinds County facilities. The Hinds County Detention Center, also known as Raymond jail, contained 219 inmates; 117 were at the Hinds County Penal Farm, commonly referred to as the "work center," also in Raymond; and 96 people were incarcerated at the Jackson Detention Center downtown.
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As Jackson and Hinds County resisted changes in arrest policy, a member of the Exonerated 5 explained to Seyma Bayram what they could face without them.
In addition to the adult population, Jones confirmed then that 15 minors who were being charged as adults are held at the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center in Jackson.
When asked then, the sheriff's office did not provide the Jackson Free Press with the names, ages, time of booking and duration of incarceration, or other demographic data regarding those who are locked up in Hinds County jails.
The last publicly available Hinds County jail rosters from December 2019 show that some inmates have been awaiting trial since 2016.
On March 18, Jones confirmed to then JFP reporter Seyma Bayram that the county was not "medically screening employees before going into the (facilities)."
"No ma'am, we are not doing that," Jones told the JFP. "No we are not (screening staff) unless they're showing any type of symptoms," Jones explained, such as a fever or cough.
This story includes reporting by Seyma Bayram. Email story tips to city/county reporter Kayode Crown at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @kayodecrown.