Inmates at a Mississippi jail were ordered to do the guards' bidding

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/us/mississippi-jail-inmates-rankin-county.html

by thelastgallon • 8 months ago

54 43 8 months ago

palmotea• 8 months ago

In a statement, the department’s attorney, Jason Dare, called the reporting “baseless.” The Rankin County jail, he wrote, “is one of the cleanest and best-run jails in Mississippi, with jailers never having been found to use excessive force in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

That's not much of a defense. All he's saying is they haven't been convicted yet.

underlipton• 8 months ago

Slavery never ended in the US. And I imagine that the racial make-up of the inmates subjected to this treatment will surprise no one. Deconfederalization is 150 years late, but we can always get to it. Changing that state flag was a start. (In 2020. In 2020!)

kaonwarb• 8 months ago

Very bad racially-motivated atrocities are perpetrated today. Characterizing that as "slavery never ended in the US" is trivializing a much, much worse past regime.

dragonwriter• 8 months ago

It is both technically (because of the penal exception in the 13th Amendment) and substantively (mass incarceration and penal slavery were adopted as policy directly and almost immediately as a replacement for chattel slavery, and have spread from their original geographic domain since) accurate, it doesn’t trivialize anything.

QuadmasterXLII• 8 months ago

One of the great opportunities to improve politics in this country would be to increase our moral dynamic range, to be able to hold in our heads that slavery was very bad, for profit prisons are very bad, and slavery was much worse.

Forgeties794• 8 months ago

The 13th amendment explicitly provides a carve out (“as punishment”) for slavery/involuntary servitude. We still allow slavery in the USA.

This incident took place at a prison, the “as punishment” space that allows the state to enslave American citizens.

doublerabbit• 8 months ago

Slavery has never ended overall.

The last I knew I was working for a company that powers their cogs earning millions whereby I get a pittance.

Modern day slavery isn't forced unlike previous generational eras sure, but we still get ripped off for the sake of forced living.

bee_rider2• 8 months ago

I’ve got plenty of complaints about how capitalism works in practice. But the “force” bit is pretty fundamental to slavery, I think.

bad_haircut72• 8 months ago

When your employer starts selling your children you can call it slavery, until then take it to Bluesky dude

OutOfHere2• 8 months ago

Prison should altogether be banned for non-violent crimes, in favor of monitored house arrest, allowing only medical and legal outdoor visits. At least this should be an option for whoever can afford it. In prison there is bad food, bad healthcare, slave labor, occasionally torture, and exposure to bad people and ideas that perpetuate crime.

Ekaros2• 8 months ago

Why should prisoner who can afford it get better conditions? To me there should be equality. Treat everyone the same in punishments.

thelock852• 8 months ago

I agree with you on the ideal of equality.

Practically speaking, even the option to be home bound if you have a home, apartment, or willing caretaker could be a serious blow to the prison industrial complex, and the incentive structures that allow these guards to commit horrific abuse.

OutOfHere2• 8 months ago

It is equal opportunity. As per the proposal, if the person cannot afford it, the state arranges for their residence, which specifically is prison.

orwin• 8 months ago

Ideally, I agree. Along with other freedom limitations depending on the crime (corruption should prevent you from actively managing your money/assets).

The issue is what to do for people without a house. But in a perfect society, you're right. We still are not there yet, so working on improving the current systems should be preferred.

loeg2• 8 months ago

I think we should improve prison conditions, but we still need prisons to keep criminals from reoffending and serve as a deterrent. Non-violent crime isn't victimless and we want to decrease it, not increase it.

tylergetsay• 8 months ago

true but most victimless crime is non violent

danaris2• 8 months ago

There are better ways.

In fact, there's plenty of evidence that prison is, in many cases, a net negative, as it takes people who committed crimes of opportunity or poverty and turns them into either hardened criminals who see it as a lifestyle, or people who have no choice but to commit crimes to survive, as we treat them as nonpersons and shut them out of society.

gdulli• 8 months ago

So many more people hide out in their homes since covid, anyway. It wouldn't seem like much of a punishment to them.

sylens• 8 months ago

For a not insignificant chunk of the population, staying inside your house is not a deterrent to crime.

Larrikin• 8 months ago

So if you commit financial crimes and have a massive mansion, you get to just be at home and order door dash, plot your next scam, have visitors. Even without the amazing house it's already way less bad than even COVID restrictions. That's not a punishment

The if you can afford it bit makes makes it even more likely that rich and powerful aren't appropriately punished for their crimes.

Maybe improve the prisons instead so everyone has a proper chance at rehabilitation.

malcolmgreaves• 8 months ago

CA started to do this and crime got much worse. No thanks.

DeathArrow• 8 months ago

Mandatory archive.is link: https://archive.is/Mf0O7

Inmates at a Mississippi jail were ordered to do the guards' bidding

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