Mississippi counties ordered to stop jailing poor people indefinitely

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. | Wed Jun 28, 2017 | 4:09pm EDT

A U.S. federal judge has ordered four central Mississippi counties to appoint public defenders for arrestees when they are detained instead of jailing them for months without providing legal counsel, civil rights groups said on Wednesday.

The order accompanies the settlement of a federal class action lawsuit challenging one county's practice of detaining people who cannot afford a lawyer for as long as a year without formal charges and appointment of counsel, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center said in a statement.

The settlement and court order require Scott, Neshoba, Newton and Leake counties to hire a chief public defender, a rarity in rural Mississippi, to ensure that defense lawyers no longer serve at judges' whims, the statement said. The chief public defender, not judges, would supervise all public defenders, the statement said.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jim Hood, whose office handled the case, did not respond to a request for comment.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mississippi-settlement-idUSKBN19J2QJ

[BumRushDaShow]

1. K&R

One wonders how many other rural counties are doing this where people get locked up indefinitely.

[progressoid]

2. It's hard to believe this is the 21st century.

This is not the future we thought we'd have when I was a kid.

[Lucky Luciano]

3. I thought this was made illegal in the 18th century!! nt

[procon]

4. Silly me, I thought debtors prisons were abolished under federal law in 1833.

When did Mississippi succeed from the Union?

[RoccoRyg]

5. Must be that "Southern Hospitality" I've heard about

Makes me want some Southern Comfort instead.

[Stuart G]

6. I guess this did not qualify in Mississippi..but it does now. (speedy trial) Bill of Rights. #6

Amendment 6....Bill of Rights..

Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Cases

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense

________________________________________________________________________________________
Therefore, the State of Mississippi did not give defendants the right to council or a "speedy trial" ..I guess Mississippi did not follow the Constitution of the United States...Amendment 6..see above.

Additional Note: This story from September 2014..shows that this has been going on for sometime..Yes been a very long time, very sad...

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/09/25/no-freedom-sight-illegally-jailed-inmates-mississippi-demand-answers#

Here is another story on this from June 13...
https://mississippitoday.org/2016/06/13/federal-judge-slams-state-for-trial-delays/

[TomSlick]

7. As we often say in Arkansas

Thank God for Mississippi! Makes us look down-right progressive.