County authorizes some improvements

By Jennifer Jacob Brown / staff writer

Clad in blue and white t-shirts that read "Justice For Children," a group of protesters waited patiently through a Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday for their opportunity to speak.

When that time came, however, the protesters made it clear that they are out of patience with county officials when it comes to conditions at the county's juvenile detention facility.

Rev. Milton Johnson, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said children detained at the center reported a variety of poor conditions — everything from lack of cleanliness to unnecessary use of pepper spray on children.

Advocacy group The Mississippi Youth Justice Project filed suit against the county last month after being denied access to the detention facility, which they say they have a legal right to inspect. Advocates affiliated with MYJP, which is based in Jackson, were present as part of the group protesting conditions but did not speak in the public forum.

"We just want for the board of supervisors to be aware that this (protesting) is something that is not just going to go away," Johnson said at the meeting. "We have a voice for the children that can't speak for themselves."

"A few weeks ago we had some horses that were neglected," said protester Jimmy Roger Ward Sr., "and immediately it was acted upon... Animals are being acted upon faster than a human being's life... This county should be ashamed."

Takeela R. Hodges told the board that her 10-year-old son was Maced for having woken up too early while being held in the center, and that the Mace left a rash on his face because it was not wiped off.

When he was released, she said, "He still had on the same socks... My baby looked like he had been dipped in powder. He said it was dust from the floor."

Hodges said after the meeting that her son was accused of breaking and entering but was not charged with any offense before or after being held at the center.

Hodges said the treatment of her son was unacceptable regardless of guilt. "Even though they're detained, they're still minors," she said. "They're still human beings."

District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell, who sits on the board's juvenile center committee, said the protesters were barking up the wrong tree with some of their complaints.

"(County) Judge (Frank) Coleman runs the juvenile center and we just set the budget," Boswell said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's his baby. We don't have nothing to do with it."

Coleman declined to comment, saying "The code of judicial conduct prohibits any judge from commenting on any kind of impending litigation."

Hodges, who addressed the board after numerous references were made to Coleman, was not satisfied with those remarks. "To me, it's pointing fingers," she said, " back and forth, back and forth."

Though Boswell said Coleman is chiefly responsible for the center, he said the board is willing to work toward improvements at the center.

"I appreciate your concern being out there and we are concerned," he told Johnson. "With your help and our help we are going to get to the bottom of this."

Boswell said the board has already addressed those problems at the juvenile center that were brought to their attention by the Lauderdale County Grand Jury. He said problems with the lighting, exercise yard, and paint have been corrected and that the cots in which children were sleeping have been replaced with bunk beds.

However, Boswell said the board is not responsible for the denial of access to the center for MYJP. "To let anyone enter the center, that's up to your senior county judge," he said. "And that's Judge Coleman."

After going into a closed meeting, the board passed a motion to consider authorizing a recreational officer position at the center and granted authority to order seven new tables with attached stools.

Lee Thaggard, an attorney who is representing the county in the MYJP lawsuit, said in an interview that the county is likely to approve additional improvements on Nov. 5, when Monday's recessed meeting will reconvene at 2 p.m.

He said there is no hearing set for the lawsuit, but that "the parties have jointly asked the court to schedule a hearing as early as next week," adding that there is a possibility the issue will be resolved, at least on a preliminary basis, without a hearing.

Thaggard addressed several of the issues that were brought up during the meeting. He said that, under state statute, "complete authority for operation and administration of a juvenile center is under the youth court. If the county chooses to have a juvenile center, it up to the board of supervisors to provide a way to pay for it."

He said the county could choose to close the juvenile center "at any time." If they did so, he said, they would have to come to an agreement to detain juveniles in another county's juvenile detention facility.

Boswell said the budget for the juvenile center is around $800,000 this year.

Thaggard said the protesters were correct in stating that some of the children detained at the center are awaiting court and have not yet been convicted of any crime.

He said they were also correct in stating that the county is required to provide education to children detained at the center, but that the requirement applied only to certain students there.

He said the county school system provides a full-time teacher who holds class from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and that 18 to 20 computers are provided for school work.

Thaggard said children who are in school and are ordered detained after a detention hearing are provided with educational services, but that service "depends upon how eager they are to participate in educational programs." Children have a detention hearing within 48 hours of being held at the facility, excluding weekends.

He also said children are provided with medical care by a nurse who is on call. He said the county is not required to have a nurse present at the facility 24 hours a day. Mental health services, he said, are also available.

Thaggard also asserted that adequate food is provided to children in the detention facility by the same company that furnishes meals to the county jail. He said the company is required to meet "strict dietary requirements."

"The meals are nutritious," he said. "They may not taste like mom's home cooking, but they are certainly nutritious."

Though Thaggard said the facility more than meets standards set by the state, Monday's protesters did not agree.

"Children have received harsh treatment and gone through all kinds of deplorable conditions," said Johnson. "You say that you're meeting the requirements. I beg to differ."