C.B. v. Walnut Grove Correctional Authority

Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (the facility) was a private prison for male offenders aged 13–22 who were convicted in the adult criminal-justice system. The Mississippi legislature authorized use of taxpayer money to fund the facility’s construction, intending the facility to provide young offenders, most of whom had committed nonviolent offenses, with rehabilitative services that afforded them a meaningful second chance. The facility was owned by the Walnut Grove Correctional Authority (WGCA) (defendant), which contracted other for-profit entities to operate the facility. Mississippi paid WGCA over $14 million per year for the facility’s management. The facility was severely understaffed and was rife with violence and corruption. Correctional officers were selling drugs to offenders, having sexual relationships with them, and engaging in physical and sexual abuse. Offenders were sometimes handcuffed and severely beaten, sprayed with dangerous chemicals while already secured in their cells, or stripped naked and placed in isolation for weeks. In addition to misconduct at the hands of staff, there was a lack of security to prevent violence between offenders. There was also a lack of basic educational and medical services. C.B. (plaintiff) filed a class-action suit against WGCA on behalf of himself and other offenders at the facility, seeking an injunction that required WGCA to cease all unconstitutional practices and begin providing the offenders with proper care, education, and living conditions.