This episode contains descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for everyone. Please use discretion. Visitation days with on Sunday. Annum I want to go visit him and when I got there, they told me, and they didn't know where he was at in two thousand and ten MIKE Macintosh. His son was incarcerated at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in the town of Wall grove Mississippi. His son who's named after him had just turned twenty and on one Sunday Michael, went to visit his son and was told he did not see him because they didn't know where he was annum. I didn't take that as an answer. I access beta them. You know that bars in other garden, it'll captain who's ever in charge, and then finally, I was told that he wasn't there. But they didn't know where he was at and then come back or call and talk

the warden tomorrow, which was a Monday, and maybe they can answer my questions. So that's what Michael did? calling every phone number he could find until he finally got to wardens answering machine on Monday. He left a message. Warden call me back until that Wednesday, and any Zamith market. As I hate you gotta problem and I say yeah my problem is: I can't find my son And in the ward and say: well, I don't know what he said so you he called Mississippi Department of Correction Michael son was sentence to Walnut Grove, because the facility was designated as a place for youth offenders would come with very serious crimes. He'd been in best rated there for about three months before Father showed up for visitation that day and really, is to sign, was missing so here Michael was now to find his son in hospitals I was so frustrated. I don't know what to do and then I thought about it I say, maybe I'm axing their own question. Nah nah,

recognize him as Michael Mcintosh, they reckon, ask him as a number, because he was still considered an inmate heat tried the University of Mississippi Hospital again and ask them if they were the inmates getting medical treatment. He was referred to security, and then the Garcia with Mister Mcintosh, she's right here and ask Well, I wanna see him and you say, We can't authorize you to see him, but you can call in Mississippi. Department of corrections talked to the medical center and make an author as you, so that's what I did and and I called them that very next day I told him I was looking for my son. Once again. They said we don't know where he said I said. Well, I do ' he's in the hospital is on a UMC. I want to go see him, so they say we'll call you back. He did call back They didn't tell Michael why his son was being treated, but they did say he would be per

headed to visit his son, the following Wednesday at one hundred pm. So I waited a whole week. Wednesday. I went to go, see him and I got to the hospital, they say: Miss MAC tires. He is no longer here. They may move them yesterday and it took Roughly almost by another week, and before I realized they moved in two one slash two hours away to Greenwood Leflore Hospital begin calling every phone number he could find for that hospital. And finally, the chaplain spoke with him and said he could help. Media. Take me two hour window and the first time I see my son has been six one slash. Two weeks later I stood at the end of the bed. He can hear my voice. They said my voice was the only thing he recognized as he's been in the hospital and uh they wouldn't tell me believe it or not. The hospital wouldn't even tell me what they were treating him for.

Because they had to get authorization for Mississippi Department of Correction medical staff in order to even tell me eventually the Department of Corrections gray. To the hospital permission to tell Michael what was going on my son, had a few stabbing once he has stitches. There was more concerned about his his brain injury. 'cause. They said it was very severe. That's why why? Even when he was in the hospital, they told me not to hold him because he was he was in some back and No use of the right arm know you sort of right. Leg is It was almost gone and they said this is all related to the injury. The few stab wounds they said it took care of that the fraction knows they were You are working late, that heal it was nerve, and you know to sit down and no one. I was helpless and can do nothing about it. Invest Peters found that his injury stemmed from a fight that it occured at Walnut Grove the investigation report states at the Walnut Grove, prison guards do

not intervene to stop the fight and in fact they quote, endorsed the disturbance, and then they tried to call set up by falsifying log entries and Michael Mackin gosh believes the reason it took six and a for weeks of searching to find his son is because the prison didn't want the public to know how bad things had gotten at Walnut Grove the weight the way the story came back to me. I can't verify cuz. You know I wasn't there, but they said it was different. Add, broke out. They get anybody that was on the side. Anybody in the area. You know it was almost like. E swarming! You know, whatever is in the way that we are demolishing so that's all these young mean get hurt. When the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility opened in two thousand and one it promise.

To be a safe, rehabilitative place for very troubled youth offenders. The youngest was just thirteen years old, but by two thousand and twelve Walnut Grove was the most violent prison in the entire state of Mississippi. One judge wrote that what happened at wall Grove quote paints a picture of such horror, as should be unrealized anywhere in the civilized world. Today we have the story of a juvenile prison, the people who ran it- the small found that relied on it and how everything went so horribly wrong. I'm Phoebe Judge this is criminal when the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility opened. It has

three hundred and fifty offenders ages. Thirteen to nineteen with, and tried as adults the prisons population more than triple as they steadily increased capacity and buy two thousand and eleven. It was the largest. Facility in the US. It's about an hour. Or from Jackson, MS, in the very small town of Walnut Grove and as you can imagine, the people in town were not made it about the arrival of a prison. I will see say that at first residence didn't wanna prison, you know you don't you think about a prison and you I don't know if we want that in our backyard, but they begin to accept it. This is Russell. Beattie director of the main street chamber of Lee County. That's based their version of the Chamber of commerce? He says: well, not Grove had his store. Liebana manufacturing town, but as the plants closes at editor

Things have changed, it needed that boost walnut, so it's always been a friendly smile, community type town, an there. It's not a lot of jobs at one point, there was when manufacturing was big, but after that and phased out there was not a lot of jobs in town. This is and the bounds she's been the librarian at the Walnut Grove Library. For almost thirty years. Some people were against the prison moving in here, just because it is a prison and prisons get a lot of bad rap, I guess you could say, and they were kind of opposed to it, but it did bring a lot of jobs for a lot of people and it brought a lot of good things for Walnut Grove. The pro doesn't became the largest employer in town Keisha Zalak offer was just kid in two thousand and one Buttram First, when her mother got a job as a corrections officer Mama

she worked with wanted to first group of people. They worked in the um facility. The facility helped us you know be able to financially survive so the facility, and built here, bought a big opportunity for a lot of people as Keisha grew up. She noticed that prison, brought a lot of people into town parents visiting their kids but also vendors and contractors, and teachers Keisha Open. Restaurant urban country kitchen and right from the start, she had dry dealers. Well, I was on heels kitchen season, twelve, so I've been trying to get my foot out there with my own restaurant and get my name out there. Some of the facility came that kind of, the Walnut Grove on the map. A lot of you know people came here to visit about new attractions. Would you lay? It meets and this restaurant in show interest in purchasing in it. Open to creating a lot of jobs. The prison paid the town about uh huh

one hundred and eighty thousand dollars a year in lieu of taxes over the years that money funded new sidewalks, a new library, a new fire department and enabled the town to move to a twenty four hour police force? So, even though many residents hadn't liked the idea, We have the prison moving to Walnut Grove, it actually end. Turning things around for the whole town. I dare anybody ride through the city of Walnut Grove. You look at all of the things that have A lot of small towns will be envious of and of that beauty any library that fire station there, a nice city hall, a lot of towns with population of five hundred would be envious of those things and a lot of that is because of money. Jenn right it from the prison, the prison, just generate money for the town of Walnut Grove. It Jenn

created money for a whole lot of other people. The state felt the building and pry companies managed operations at the prison it changed operators several times in two thousand and three, it was taken over by Cornell companies. In twenty ten rental companies was acquired by the second largest for profit prison company. In the country GEO Group GEO Group made of the operational choices, food vendor medical vendors uniforms and their biggest expense. Was staffing the prison with correctional officers, corporation decided how many it's to hire, how much to train them and what they would be paid These decisions are subject to oversight from the state. In theory, this private model allows a prison to operate at a lower cost. It makes money for

the corporation running it and boost the local economy of a town like Walnut Grove along the way, but that's not what happened. We first learned of the issues related to Walnut Grove, because we would get complaints, families from clergy, from members of the community, about just some real Horrific events that were happening, that people Phoenix extorted people been raped, sexual assault, people were being left alone when they community, starting them self and subsequently it take their own lives. This is Jody Owens. He leads the Mississippi Office of the Southern Poverty LAW center and first visited Walnut grove in two thousand and nine so what we did as a result was launched. The investigation internally and once we got into place, we couldn't leave me you want to add something to tell us about what was happening in this hell hole in November. Two thousand and ten Jody

the ones in the southern Poverty LAW center filed a lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections alleging a culture of violence in crop, and that endangered the young people incarcerated at Walnut Grove the children as young as fourteen and fifteen years in the prison who were there growing up? essentially where they would have been great score and I for tenth grade. They were growing up in the prison. But would find is that drugs cabana, ramp, it sanction fighting between the resonance of the facility or a normal event, abuse and over use of force and mace by the starts with something that we were seeing a regular basis No, these sanction Bryant, like events called flipping Nippon, Where would just be a better or an? I don't

should think of just a fight. I want you to think of people getting knocked unconscious and teeth being knocked in people's mouth. All the while. The question never wanted to ask is where the guards were the people who are supposed to protect from the most viable population. We have our kids and the Nowhere to be found. What were the racial demographics of Walnut Grove miss Zippy's prison system as a whole is predominantly african. American, Mississippi has probably about sixty five percent. Occasion, population to thirty five percent after american population and the prison rate would be upper dove easily. Seventy five percent- and that goes into a larger problem as well. You can talk about prisons without talking about who's Darren, how they got there and one of the people look like and on that growth was mostly african American, absolutely when Jody was investigating the prison in two thousand and ten about eighty percent of the one thousand two hundred youth

Vendors were African American and he found that there was a documented lack of mental health and educational services, not even half the inmates. In school, and they were just not enough guards. There was only one correctional officer for every sixty inmates, The recommended ratio is one guard for every eight inmates things had gotten out of control guards were caught, Smo pulling in weapons and drugs, and coursing inmates have sex in exchange for food or phone privileges. There were widespread reports of rape, stabbings beatings and other acts of violence. Inmates, ported organized gladiator style fights that were encouraged by the guards some times. The guards bet money on the outcomes. One the individual who brothers or his cane get off the pod and he was there by himself, but he was being savagely for approximately about twelve minutes.

He was stabbed more than a hundred times he was urinated on this video of MIKE, Ways been dropped on his head as he sat there and his clothes were just soaked with blood. And what was I'm sad about this instances that their control, tower that looked down upon his pile, had an opening where the guards were supposed to be able to shoot a canister for emergency purposes? Smoke, train tear gas, taquilla disturbance of this happen. But unfortunately, the guards not trained properly to do so, so they chat, the tear gas in the control tower and then go into the pie So what you see in the video is that the control tower feels with smoke and the beat continue continue continue. People taking these knives in these punches in his punches along video.

It's something no human should ever have to endure a particular human is in custody in control of a state. The man survive. He did survive. He disavowed, I'm pretty sure he lost psi police about This happens to someone the free world near me. A new you will be too going by there every day it would be on The clock knows it be on Fox NEWS: CNN had be going, viral because these things happen in prison, it will make it to the public. Much of the documented abuse took place under the management of Cornell companies which no there exists because it was acquired by GEO Group in its complaint, the southern Poverty LAW Center wrote GEO has a policy, which began years ago under Cornell of understaffing the prison, the understaffing, creates vial conditions that subject youth to see

listen and sometimes permanent injury. We reached out to GEO Group for comment and they emailed a statement from their spokesman, Pablo Pious that reads GEO. We do not believe in cost cutting for profits sake. Instead, we believe in running an efficient operation that provides at Quit staffing and relies on state of the art technology for monitoring, communication and health care in October, two thousand and ten kind of justice launched a formal investigation into the conditions at Walnut Grove. They were viewed, videos, injury, Louis death reports and even the floor plans. They interviewed between three and four hundred youth offenders. They also interviewed prison staff was there by, It's absolutely as with any institution prison facility.

Was it worse than your average facility I would say no, maybe bit biased. I have been in a lot of prisons over my course of my working career. This is Jeremy Belk. He was trained as a chap one and worked as an alcohol and drug counselor at Walnut Grove, he was promoted to fire and safety manager and later proof, it again to facility investigator. What was it like to work there to work at prison when it was being investigated by the Doj uh. But I guess it could be considered you know you didn't know if we're going to have a job six months down the road it was. It was disheartening to me person only and two other people, the prison got a lot of flak for some things at work

wanted to have happened and, unfortunately, when you're in this line of work, you never get to tell your side of the story. You want to get a skewed you because it's mainly come in from a complaint from a parent or from an inmate who was at the facility so that the viewers certainly skewed the these. These were not children who you know does so by their parents. These, for many times hardened criminals and many times they were very respectful, but many times they had a problem with society and it was society's fault- and being there and they were going to punish anyone that was around including other inmates. What was it like working there? How were the employees and guards treated? Did you make a good salary? Well, of course, there's always room for

bigger and better salaries, but I think it was Compara Bulto, maybe a little bit better then, most of your work in the area, the staff is just your typical staff. There were people, there who did their jobs and who wanted to Excel in their line of work, and then also you, you had some bad apples as well guards that weren't operating correctly. Yes and you are responsible for for stopping them or citing them sure any facility in this country or any other country you're going to have people who are there too? I guess take, the advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, I heard this over and over when I talk to people in the town of Walnut Grove that, yes, some guards were

abusive, but no worse than any other place. Yes, there were riots in the prison Like many other prisons in the country, the town felt like it was being unfairly singled out, I felt like they were eager to tell all the bad news, and there was a lot good going on Linda Bones. What about the People who say wait a second, this town, is improving because of a place where there's reports of inmates getting hurt but it is a prison and you're going to have problems in a prison and so I I felt like they had. Except that I knew that there would be problems in a prison. This isn't Sunday. School rush lady. So your housing incarcerated people. So, yes, you can. I have an issue from time to time. No one thinks they prisons should be a club med Jerry on

and should be this vacation. But if, if it, every? Is your love one in the prison? Did your prayer, that they will be free of torturing abuse. They can. Sleep inn night without worry about somebody coming in their sale with a knife, and I don't think the public appreciates just how this system is run and what I can She looks like because we're asking for you, do the crime you pay the time. What does it mean? Is that in that? Time means that you restrict it as at time even the entire time. You there, every day every back in every minute. You have to be abused. And to do so that it impacts you as a person, that's permanent on March two funny at the twenty twelve, the Department of Justice completed its eighteen month, investigation of Walnut Grove, concluding that the inmates were not receiving constitutionally adequate protection.

Their report, states that the sexual misconduct was among the worst that they had seen in any facility in the nation staff was routine, the engaging in sexual acts with the youth excessive force was a first response. Not a last resort. Officers brutally react. Into low level aggression like abusive language or passive resistance to an order by slamming youth head first into the ground, slapping beating and kicking them. A federal judge wrote those youth, some of whom are mere children, are at risk every minute, every hour every day and order that all offenders under the age of seventeen be moved of Walnut Grove, and less than a month after that report came out. The state of Mississippi did renew its contract with the corporation

operating the prison GEO group. Walnut Grove became an adult only facility and Utah this company called Mtc to covert operations last August in move that made national news. That, apart, justice announced that, would phase out its contracts with private prisons, them eh Red if it prison, served an important role during a difficult period, the time has shown that they compare poorly to her. Bureau facilities, but this move only impacts. Federal prisons It won't impact the vast majority of private prisons in this country which are operated at the state level and yet the next May in September of two thousand and sixteen the misses the Department of Corrections shut down the long, Grove Correctional facility. The stated reason was budget cuts. Decreasing prison population

The decision was made without any communication with the town. It's oh I'm, absolutely man. I think that the governor has a unleashed. I have a dollar in the Department of Corrections, Woman Grove Mayor, Brenda million is furious at Commissioner Marshall Fisher and the Mississippi to of corrections after hearing on the new who's that the state was closing. His towns privately managed prison after fourteen years, a sad day, your largest employer it shut down and ten. State government does not bother to tell you they're about to do that. Thank okay million did not respond to a request for an interview, The nine hundred remaining inmates were moved to other prisons, and now, facility sits empty just a three minute buy from downtown it's one of the biggest buildings. I've ever seen an it, This is just sitting there and there's no there's no

hustle and bustle Jeremy Belk, the man who worked at the prison for five years, I've always said, there's no way they're going to they're going to close this facility is it's it's needed its to knew it. Would it would be a tremendous burden for to close for the taxpayers of the state, and I was shocked, I did not believe it. It feels like. Maybe these people just got picked up and What was once a bustling place is now completely the signs are still here. Everything is here except there's. No people, that's correct, essentially what happened when the the decision was made within within about a month, maybe maybe five weeks. They picked all the inmates up and close doors in its way the prison left, the town of Walnut Grove growth in even worse shape, financially than it was before the library only afford to be open. Twenty hours a week now, city

our offices are only open four days a week police off price of taking a pay cut of two dollars an hour, every utility bills have gone up to compensate for the loss of the John's biggest customer and the two hundred some odd jobs at the prison created have all been lost You are standing downtown, Walnut Grove. This is this an absolute at the center of the time, so this is the busiest place that you could be in Walnut grove. This is it this. Is it and there's there's one one vehicle on on main street? Would that have been the case? this before the prison. Closed. No that shift change. There was an absolute traffic jam here on main street, so it's it's it's completely different. It is certainly a lot quieter than it was this time. Last year,.

You really can kind of like stand in the middle of main street. Here live literally stand in the middle of it. You can stand here for quite awhile. Actually, nobody wants to admit that their disa- point it that a prison closed, especially one as bad as Walnut Grove, but. The thing is there a lot of people in the town of Walnut Grove right now? Who don't really know what to do? Jeremy Belk has opened a food pantry to make sure people in town have enough to eat. Where we see you know, we have our share of elderly and I'm seeing a lot of my co workers come through people who worked at the prison people who work at the prison apps and how has that how's? The response been unbelievable. Lots of lots of.

Not so dry eyes when we're here very, very thankful people very, very lots of gratitude for doing You must feel so relieved that Walnut Grove is closed down now. Well, you know I'm relieved, because the The young man that were there have basically living in barbaric conditions. There was a pray to the older ones that was there and there was no relief. You know you, you send those young people there an they are so charged up. You want if they ever can get back down. Michael Mcintosh, the man we met at the beginning of the story who spent weeks searching for his son. Habit, clothes. You know. I thought it was a good thing, because

I realize, as I was walking through this process and learning quite a bit going through this, process that any I'm used are pudding rehabilitate against prophets and profits. Win rehabilitation never occurs you know this is a hard enough to even try to get rehabilitation. From a prison system less even run it correctly. So imagine the ones! That's alpha profit, you know they cutting corners, they not caring that it. A lot of lapses in it you know, and then you won't rehabilitation. It was never gonna happen, so the headers place close and know that these kids might have a better chance, especially not from that place. I'm all for it Michael son is out of prison now working and try. To go back to school he's gone through a lot of physical therapy. His Cognition has improved, but Batiste Well, can't remember things sometimes his

father says he may never recover from that. Wall, Michael Mcintosh, in the southern Poverty LAW center, see the clue. Of Walnut Grove is a victory. The Private prison industry on the whole is due. I'm pretty well walnut rose former operator GEO Group manage is a lot of other prisons in this country and also in Australia, South Africa in the UK. Prison operator in this country is called the Corrections Corporation of America also known as CCA re branded as core civic and these are publicly traded companies a large chunk of their shares are held by Inve, spent funds that poor people's money like Vanguard, Wells, Fargo or fidelity. So, if Do you have a 401K or invest in mutual funds? You could have a stake in the private prison industry without even knowing it,

day after the election CCA was the bed performing stock. On the New York Stock Exchange, it rose. Forty three percent GEO group rose. Twenty one percent. Some speculated. The spike was, in response to President Elect Trump's comments about detaining undocumented immigrants. He also said in March quote. I do th we can do a lot of privatizations and private prisons. It seems to work a lot better, criminal is produced by Lawrenceport, Nedeia Wilson and me Audio Mack play Rob Byers else,

elders are in turn special thanks to Russ Henry in SAM Turkin, Julian Alexander, makes original illustrations for each episode of criminal. You can see them at thisiscriminal, dot, com or we've put Lee the various things about Walnut Grove and the Department of Justice report. We're on Facebook and twitter at criminal show criminal is recorded in the studios of North Carolina public Radio, W Unc Way proud member of radiotopia from Prx a collection of the bed. Podcasts around radio topia from Prx, is supported by the Knight Foundation and Mailchimp celebrate. And creativity, chaos and teamwork, and thanks to add Zirc, for providing Their ad serving platform to radiotopia, I'm Phoebe Judge. This is criminal

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