The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of the capital murder of a two-year-old child. The reversal resulted from several errors made at trial, as well as the taint of prosecutorial misconduct. The November 9, 2017 opinion reversed the conviction of Justin Barrett Blakeney for the murder of
By Prison Legal News
This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Mississippi through New Hampshire and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.
Mississippi Prison News
In three separate incidents that occurred between July 14 and 19, 2013, two guards and the 65-year-old mother of a prisoner were arrested as a result of DOC investigations. Ciarra Harley, a 27-year-old guard at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), is accused of having a sexual relationship with a probationer.
Patricia Bennett-Armstrong, also employed at CMCF, was arrested for possession of prohibited items after a large amount of tobacco was found in her vehicle.
Further, Gloria Edwards, the mother of a prisoner serving time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was arrested for allegedly planning to deliver contraband to a prisoner. Edwards was at the facility to see her son but was arrested before the visit; she had several pills concealed on her body and more drugs were found in her vehicle.
Mississippi Prison News
On June 11, 2013, Harrison County jailers Frederick Corso and Joseph Tuten were fired for their roles in the mistreatment of a prisoner and an attempted cover-up of the abuse. A review of surveillance video confirmed the mistreatment, which was witnessed by a third guard who alerted jail administrators. Although the prisoner did not suffer any injuries, Corso and Tuten were terminated when one participated in the abuse and the other falsified incident reports.
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