Headline: Mississippi Prisons on Lockdown After Violence Leaves Five Dead
In recent weeks, the Mississippi prison system, most notably the State Penitentiary at Parchman, have come under fire amid reports of poor conditions and fighting among inmates.
A Mississippi Today article from Thursday on the heels of Tate Reeves’ visit to two state prisons, one of them Walnut Grove, outlines his plans for improving the embattled prison system. The new governor plans to crack down on contraband, such as cell phones, implement more strenuous screening of officers and staff and improve maintenance. However, he will not request more funding. He instead placed blame on the inmates, calling most of the problems “inmate-caused.”
That article, as well as one from Yahoo! News, a national publication, used only Reeves as a source.
Alissa Zhu’s article from the Clarion Ledger features three sources, two of which were statements released by outgoing officials, and the third from the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Zhu could have done more original reporting by getting her own quotes from the sources, rather than using released statements, which make the quotes a little stale.
The hard news lead is, like the rest of the story, lacking not in substance, but in the connection drawn by the substance. It gives Jerry Williams, the deputy commissioner who is stepping down, sort of a pass. Zhu reports that MDOC claims that Williams has planned to retire for months, but in light of the recent inmate violence, and one previous official stepping down, Zhu should have provided evidence as to whether or not the retirement was actually planned or is the result of the scandal. Finding an outside source with expert knowledge could have helped to solve this problem.
The article mentions Pelicia Hall, another official stepping down. But it provides no further detail about her and the circumstances surrounding her giving up her position. Are the two related? Was Hall’s unannounced or planned ahead?
Two obvious story ideas and angles that comes to mind are first, a follow-up piece focused on finding out whether Williams’ retirement was planned or a result of the recent MDOC issues, and second, to find if there were any political implications in Williams’ and Hall’s decisions. Perhaps Tate Reeves or other Republican leadership in some way persuaded their decisions.
Zhu should definitely follow up on the information she provides at the end of the article about Congressman Thomas and civil rights players seeking an investigation into MDOC. If such an investigation ensues, one must question if William’s and Hall’s seemingly sudden departures signal implication of some sort.
Nevertheless, Zhu’s article is necessary in that it is keeping the public, especially the local readers who need to know what is happening in the state prisons where friends and relatives may be. While her story is not perfect, the Mississippi prisons saga is an ongoing one with many unanswered questions that will hopefully be answered in the coming months. Reporters like her are filling in the gaps in the meantime.