by Douglas Ankney

With at least 42 people killed inside Mississippi’s prisons over the last decade, multiple families are wondering why the Mississippi Department of Corrections (DOC) cannot protect people in its custody or hold the killers accountable.

From 2015 through 2024, the homicide rate at Parchman State Prison was five times higher than the state as a whole, which is most troubling in light of the fact that the state of Mississippi itself had the highest homicide rate in the United States in 2023. And a Reporting Team with The Marshall Project (“Marshall Project Team”) identified three homicides in DOC facilities that were not listed in federal and state reports. Unfortunately, this lack of consistent and accurate reporting across the nation makes a state-by-state comparison nearly impossible.

The majority of the killings in Mississippi’s prison system involved beatings or stabbings, with multiple assailants in many cases. The ages of the homicide victims ranged from 23 to 62 and 60% of them were Black. Many of the victims were imprisoned due to probation and parole violations while some had been convicted of more serious crimes, including robbery and murder.

Due to the installation of security cameras in DOC facilities, including inside Parchman in 2020, most of the recent homicides were filmed. And in the other homicides, internal reports show that the perpetrators are known to DOC officials.

In an emailed statement to The Marshall Project, the DOC repeated its usual blather that it “remains committed to ensuring the safety of its inmates” and it takes “every death of an inmate in its custody seriously.” Yet, shockingly, over the past ten years, local prosecutors have filed charges against suspects in only 16 of the homicides, a fact the DOC tried to explain away by stating: “Each suspected homicide is investigated. The remaining investigations that are closed did not support a referral [for prosecution].” Thus far, there have been only eight convictions—with two of those coming by guilty pleas after the cases were reported in the news. Two cases were dropped: one because the accused committed suicide and another because the evidence showed it was self-defense. The other six remain pending.

And even when prosecutions are initiated, they are sometimes bungled. For example, the Marshall County District Attorney’s office “forgot” to prosecute a suspect for four years. The case was brought to light only because of a reporter’s inquiry. District Attorney Ben Creekmore acknowledged in an interview that “the indictment had gotten lost in the bureaucracy.”

On January 12, 2025, Shelby Peevyhouse was incarcerated at the Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville when he was involved in a fight and kicked in the chest by another prisoner. Because Peevyhouse has a pacemaker, his friend and fellow prisoner Joshua Odom came to check on him. Another prisoner then punched Odom, knocking Odom to the ground where he hit his head and became unconscious.

Both men were taken to the medical wing. The guards declined to call an ambulance for Odom because their shifts were ending and they were in a hurry to get home. Instead, a medical staffer glued Odom’s head wound shut and both men were sent back their housing unit.

But Odom, still dazed and unable to even say his name, continued to float in and out of consciousness. Peevyhouse alerted staff, and this time an ambulance was called.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Peevyhouse learned the next morning that Odom had died. The medical examiner ruled Odom’s death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. But in an appalling dereliction of duty, the DOC official who called Odom’s mother told her only that “Odom had been found hurt and died at the hospital.” It was only because friends of Peevyhouse contacted Odom’s family via Facebook that the family was informed Odom was assaulted and had died while waiting for the ambulance.

Even though the incident was recorded on surveillance footage, Odom’s assailant was never criminally charged. Instead, the DOC charged the assailant with a violation of institutional rules and the killer received a “sentence” of loss of 180 days good time; loss of phone and visitation privileges for 60 days; and liability for Odom’s medical expenses. Because the assailant was not criminally charged, his name is withheld from the public.

Unbelievably, the failure of the DOC to accurately, or even adequately, inform Odom’s surviving family members of the circumstances surrounding the homicide seems to be typical. Interviews conducted by The Marshall Project revealed that family members are routinely left without any answers. Many of those interviewed said they learned of the deaths of their loved ones “through a whisper network of incarcerated people, insiders, advocates, and in some cases, journalists.”

Details are so murky that lawyers often refuse to take civil cases to court. Dale Graham, whose brother was killed in the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, said “I literally just gave up on it. Nothing happened.” State Representative Becky Curry, a Brookhaven Republican, acknowledged that violence is rampant in DOC facilities and said: “Whatever the cause of death is, I think families are owed an answer.”

Since 2022, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has found that in four of the DOC’s facilities, prisoners’ constitutional rights are being violated by the DOC’s failure to protect them from violence. The DOJ’s investigation at other DOC facilities is ongoing.

And in response to the report from The Marshall Project, DOC Commissioner Burl Cain stated: “All the deaths we’ve had since 2015, we’re going back to revisit.” Cain added, “There is no statute of limitations, as you know, on homicide.” Cain said that the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) is reviewing each death that was not referred to a district attorney’s office. The CID was rebuilt since Cain took over the DOC in 2020 and employs 25 people whom Cain described as “bringing a lot more professionalism.”

In addition to the 43 homicides, there were another 21 prisoner deaths since 2015 that the state medical examiner ruled as “undetermined.” For example, prisoner Richard Weems’ dead body was discovered in 2022 and showed signs of blunt force trauma. But medical examiners were unable to reach a conclusion and ruled the manner of death to be “undetermined.” However, another prisoner told the Mississippi Free Press a year later that he had witnessed Weems being beaten. Cain said all of those deaths will be re-investigated as well.

But advocacy groups observed that homicides will likely continue because criminal prosecutions do not address the underlying cause—which they perceive to be the DOC’s lack of staff. Deputy Commissioner Nathan Blevins said about 30% of funded guard positions remain vacant. In light of the staffing shortages, one advocacy group likened the DOC’s remedy of reopening of investigations to “closing the door after the horse has left the barn.”  

Sources: The Marshal Project, Mississippi Today, The Clarion-Ledger, Hattiesburg American, and The Mississippi Link

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