In Mississippi, Arrested, Jailed and Never Indicted

A Mississippi county has illegally held inmates in jail for as long as a year without appointing counsel or presenting cases to a grand jury, the American Civil Liberties Union argues in a lawsuit, and a law professor said Wednesday that something similar could be happening elsewhere in the state.

 

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Jackson, against officials in Scott County on behalf of inmates Octavious Burks and Joshua Bassett. Telephone calls to District Attorney Mark Duncan and Sheriff Mike Lee from the Associated Press seeking comment were not immediately returned Wednesday.

 

Court records show Burks has been in the Scott County Jail since Nov. 18, 2013, and Bassett since Jan. 16, 2014. Neither has been indicted.

 

“We’re seeking to make Scott County’s justice system function for all its residents,” Brandon Buskey, staff attorney at the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, said in a news release. “The county must set reasonable limits on the amount of time someone can remain in jail without a lawyer and without charges. Scott County jail routinely holds people without giving them a lawyer and without formally charging them for months, with no end in sight.”