FBI: Inmates who started Miss. prison riot angry over what they called poor food, medical care

[douglas9]

JACKSON, Miss. — A deadly riot at a prison for illegal immigrants in Mississippi was started by a group of Mexican inmates angry about what they considered poor food and medical care and disrespectful guards, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

One guard was killed and 20 people were injured in the May 20 riot at the privately-run Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, which holds illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the United States.

The leaders of the Mexican inmates, known as the Paisas, demanded to take a list of grievances to the warden that day and told others in the group to disobey orders from prison staff, according to the FBI affidavit. The affidavit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Jackson, is part of a complaint charging one of the inmates with rioting.

Correction officer Catlin Carithers was beaten to death during the riot, which officials have said involved as many as 300 inmates and left the prison badly damaged. The affidavit does not say who killed Carithers.

The affidavit says the Paisas were the most influential group in the prison. But it had recently gone through a shake-up in its leadership because members thought the old leaders weren’t effective in communicating complaints to prison officials. The new leaders — Ernesto “Neto” Granados and Juan “Bobby” Arredondo — allegedly ordered the Paisas to disobey prison staff by refusing to return to their cells until their demands were met.

FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said Paisas are a loosely affiliated group within the prison, without ties to organized gangs.

“The Paisas were further instructed by their new leaders to destroy the prison if staff made any attempts to break up the riot,” the affidavit said. It says damages to the prison are estimated at more than $1.3 million. “In addition to destroying the prison, Paisas planned to assault the correction officers.”


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The prison holds nearly 2,500 low-security inmates, with most serving time for coming back to the United States after being deported. The facility is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fbi-inmates-who-started-miss-prison-riot-angry-over-what-they-called-poor-food-medical-care/2012/08/13/c84091ae-e570-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_print.html

[Rabid_Rabbit]

1. I hope each one

of these 'leaders' is held responsible for the beating death of Catlin Carithers.