Lawsuit Arises After 'Shocking' Video Shows Abuses at Juvenile Facility

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) today filed a lawsuit against Forrest County, Miss., to force the county to comply with federal law and provide the children held at the county’s juvenile detention center with access to lawyers and civil rights advocates following reports of abusive conditions at the facility.

Video footage from the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center shows a youth hogtied and other abuses, including a youth slammed against a wall by a guard. The video was recently released despite the county’s effort to prevent it from being aired. When advocates for the SPLC and DRMS sought access to the detention center in order to provide detained youth with federally mandated protection and advocacy services, county officials barred their access to the children.

Click the link below for the full story and security footage from the juvenile center.